


To Leave A Mark

by Fanfiction_is_Literature



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: BAMF Stiles, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski are Soulmates, Everything is basically the same except Stiles and Derek are soulmates, M/M, Oblivious Stiles, Soulmate Tattoos, Soulmates are rare, writer is bad at tags
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-20
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-10 14:51:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 42,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8921353
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanfiction_is_Literature/pseuds/Fanfiction_is_Literature
Summary: Stiles Stilinski was born with a strange mark on his skin that resembled a paw print. No one thought much about it since birthmarks weren't rare, but Stiles started to notice it change as he got older.Derek Hale was a rare werewolf: the kind with a soulmark on his skin. But as tragedy struck both him and his mate, his interest dwindled in finding him or her. That is, until he started to notice similar changes from his mark in a certain teenaged boy with an alarming amount of moles.Or: The Soulmate AU where soulmates are rare and get tattoo-looking marks on their skins that describe their mate.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hoping to update everyday, maybe not on weekends because of the holidays but I'll try my best :)

Stiles was eight years old when his mom started going to the hospital more and more. His mom and dad didn’t tell him anything and she always went while he was at school, but he would find the bracelets in the waste basket whenever he looked.

Stiles was starting to get upset with all the secrecy and he was getting into fights at school. He started stealing candy from his fellow students’ lockers and pranking his teachers. Mostly, he remained calm, trying not to get physically violent with the other kids. Until, one day, a fifth grader started antagonizing one of the first graders. 

“Leave him alone.” Stiles said, stepping in. 

“What’re you gonna do about it?” The bully asked.

The first grader ran away and Stiles rolled his eyes. 

“I don’t have to do anything.” Stiles shrugged, turning around to walk away.

The fifth grader grabbed him by the back of his shirt. “You’re not going anywhere.”

Stiles squirmed, trying his best to get away, but he was too small.

The kid turned him around and pushed him to the ground.

Stiles took the opportunity to push himself backwards toward a nearby rock, grabbing it and slamming it against the other boy’s head. The boy fell back and Stiles straddled him, hitting him with the rock a few more times until the boy was unconscious.

A teacher ran up to the scene and pulled Stiles off of the older boy with a loud gasp.

“He started it.” Stiles explained as the teacher did her best to stop the blood trickling out of the other boy’s head. 

“Go get the nurse.” The teacher instructed. 

Stiles ran in the direction of the nurse’s office.

~

Derek was fifteen when he first met Stiles Stilinski. 

His girlfriend Paige had just died from a werewolf bite and the police had started investigating. Derek was sitting on a bench, waiting to be questioned, when a little boy with a bright smile and amber colored eyes ran up to him.

“Hey.” The little boy said, jumping onto the bench with a flop. “I’m Stiles.”

Stiles had pale skin and an alarming amount of moles. His nose was adorably upturned and his eyes were almost golden with playfulness but Derek didn’t feel like dealing with some random kid. He had just lost Paige.

“Go away.” Derek glared. 

“Where do you want me to go?” Stiles asked, looking around suspiciously before pulling a candy out of his pocket. The movement caught his attention and he caught a scent of chocolate and peanut butter, along with something soft and human, cinnamon shampoo, and medication.

“Anywhere else.” Derek scoffed. “What are you even doing here? This is a highschool.”

“Came here with my dad.” Stiles answered, popping the candy into his mouth. “I got in trouble at school and was sent home but my mom has a doctor’s appointment so my dad is watching me.”

“He’s not doing a very good job.” Derek said, standing up. 

“He’s working.” Stiles smiled slyly. “Want some of my candy?”

Derek looked Stiles over suspiciously.

“I have more.” Stiles pulled some candy out of his pocket. “I’m not gonna just spit it out and give it to you. I’m eight, not gross.”

“You’re both.” Derek rolled his eyes.

“Fine.” Stiles shrugged. “So that’s a ‘no’ to the Reese’s.”

Derek shrugged, looking around.

“Why aren’t you in class?” Stiles asked, noticing that the halls were empty and slipping the candy into Derek’s pocket.

Derek wouldn’t have noticed if it hadn’t been for his heightened werewolf senses.

“Are you waiting for my dad?” Stiles asked casually, as if he hadn’t just smuggled a chocolate into Derek’s jacket.

“Who’s your dad?” Derek asked, just as the door to the principal’s office opened and a deputy peered out. 

“Derek Hale?” The deputy asked, his eyes looking over Stiles suspiciously.

“That’s him.” Stiles pointed at the deputy with a smile. “Hi, dad.”

Derek stood up.

“Come on in.” The deputy said, opening the door wider to let Derek through, but his focus was still on Stiles. “Are you eating candy?”

“Nuh-uh.” Stiles shook his head.

The deputy turned to Derek with a silent question.

“I gave him one.” Derek shrugged, pulling the Reese’s out of his pocket. 

“Oh.” The deputy looked Stiles over again before turning to Derek with a smile. “Thank you.”

“Yeah, thanks.” Stiles beamed at Derek.

Derek walked into the principal’s office without another word, wanting to get the prodding questions from the sheriff over with.

~

Stiles was eight when his mother was finally admitted into a hospital and his parents told him that she had fronto-temporal dementia. She died later in the same year and his father started drinking a little bit more.

Stiles figured it was his own fault. The birthmark on his side served as a curse, causing anyone near him to suffer. His father told him that it wasn’t his fault, and it had nothing to do with the paw shaped mark on his side. Stiles was being ridiculous.

~

Derek was nearly sixteen when his soul mark on his chest started to change. It had been a sapling, but it seemed to be wilting. Derek had almost forgotten about his soul mark after losing Paige, thinking that it didn’t matter now that she was gone. Now, however, something was wrong with his soul mate and he had no idea what the wilting meant.

His mother and Alpha, Talia, told him that it meant that his soul mate was sad. Some kind of disaster had struck and they were falling into a depression.

Peter, Derek’s uncle, told Derek that his soul mate was dying. There was something wrong with them, of course, but it wasn’t sadness. It was illness.

Derek trusted his mother more than Peter, but he couldn’t help but worry. He had lost his first love, he wasn’t ready to lose his soul mate.

~

Time Jump

~

“I can take care of myself, dad.” Stiles complained. “I’m eleven. I can stay home alone.”

“I’m a deputy, Stiles.” His dad reminded him. “I can’t leave my kid at home alone, especially not when you have a habit of getting into trouble whenever you can.”

Stiles sighed and crossed his arms. “Fine. So what are we doing?”

“There’s been some trouble down at the high school.” His dad sighed. “The sheriff will update me when I get there.”

“Alright.” Stiles grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulder. “But doing homework at a high school wasn’t what I wanted to do with my half-day.”

“Get in the car.” His dad said irritably.

~

Derek was playing basketball alone when he noticed someone sneaking out through the window of the library. He put his basketball with his backpack and quietly followed the kid in the hoodie.

“You have heavy footsteps.” Stiles said, removing his hood and giving Derek a bored look. “Something to keep in mind for the next time to stalk someone.”

Derek glared. “You look familiar.”

“I have that kind of face.” Stiles shrugged. 

“You’re too young to be here.” Derek pointed out. 

Stiles pulled out a Reese’s and shrugged.

“You’re that kid.” Derek remembered. “Your dad’s a deputy.”

Stiles had smeared chocolate on his face but he smirked up at Derek. “I was just kidding about you being a stalker, but now I’m not so sure.”

Derek sighed. “Your dad and the sheriff questioned me about my girlfriend’s death two years ago.”

Stiles’ face fell and he wiped his mouth clean. 

“It’s fine.” Derek shrugged. 

“I have to go.” Stiles looked around uneasily and ran away.

Derek could sense his chemo-signals indicating anxiety, but just as he was about to go after him, some of his old friends came by and distracted him. 

~

Stiles went back to the library after crying in the bathroom. He thought that he was getting better at dealing with his panic attacks, but seeing Derek again brought back all the feelings from two years ago. 

“Come on, Stiles.” His dad said, coming into the library. “We’re done here.”

They were halfway to the door when the sheriff called Stiles’ dad back. 

“I’m sorry, son.” His dad sighed. “We’ll go home soon.”

Stiles shrugged and decided to wander around. A few minutes later, he noticed Derek playing with some friends.

“Yo, Hale!” One of the kids yelled. “We’re gonna go get some Gatorade from the vending machines, wanna come?”

Derek threw his arm and shook his head, finally seeing Stiles.

The other boys disappeared shortly and Derek made his way back towards Stiles.

“Hey.” Derek said, watching Stiles closely. “You okay?”

Stiles shrugged. “Fine.”

“What’s your name again?” Derek asked, offering his hand to shake. “I’m Derek Hale.”

“Listen, I’m bad luck.” Stiles said, blatantly ignoring Derek’s hand. “You look sad and none of your idiot friends are noticing, so I’m gonna give you a piece of advice: more bad things are going to happen. Life is going to suck really bad for a really long time, but someday you’re going to be happy, and you just have to hold out for that day. Just hold on to that idea, and you’ll get through the worst of it.”

“You’re like… ten.” Derek looked him over curiously.

Stiles shook his head. “Eleven. But that doesn’t mean that I don’t know anything.”

Derek’s friends came back and Stiles started walking away.

“I’m just a dumb kid.” Stiles sighed. 

“Hey, kid!” Derek called. “What makes you think that things are gonna get worse?”

“I’m bad luck.” Stiles mumbled. 

Derek wouldn’t have been able to hear if not for his heightened senses. He watched as Stiles made his way back to the library as the bell rang, ending the lunch break.

~

Stiles was in the middle of class when he felt his side start to burn. The teacher thought that he was faking it at first, but Stiles ran out of the classroom to see what was wrong, leaving the whole class bewildered. He lifted his shirt to find that his usual paw print birthmark was now surrounded in flames, but the pain was receding.

Needless to say, his teacher was quite alarmed when he walked into the bathroom and saw that Stiles had a tattoo on his side with flames that were crackling slower and slower until they finally stayed in place.

Stiles was given the rest of the day off, being sent home to recover despite his teacher being unable to explain the situation.

Stiles ended up waiting for his dad at the sheriff’s department. He felt scared. He didn’t know what he was going to tell his dad and his usual ability to handle problems was gone. He wasn’t sure how to react and he was frustrated at being so young, thinking that he might be better suited to handle the situation if he were older. So, taking advantage of his age, he did the only thing he could think of: cry.

A few hours later, his dad showed up with a weary look on his face and Stiles double checked his face to make sure that it was dry.

“Stiles, Dana told me that you were sent home early for not feeling well.” His dad sighed. “How do you feel now?”

Stiles shrugged and stood up.

“Go to my office.” His dad bit his lip. “I left a coloring book in there. We’re bringing some people in, there’s been a fire. Don’t come out until I go get you, alright?”

Stiles nodded and dragged his backpack to the office, following his dad as his dad let him in before leaving again.

Stiles colored for a few minutes, but he couldn’t help wondering about the fire. He cautiously raised his shirt and felt over his changed birthmark with flames on it. Did he cause the fire?

~

Derek had volunteered to be interrogated first, blaming himself for the fire. It was hunters, he knew that for sure. He knew that it was Kate Argent, his older girlfriend, but he also knew that he couldn’t tell anyone. They wouldn’t believe him to begin with, and Laura would hate him forever if she knew that he had been the one to lead the hunters right to their family. Their pack.

Derek buried his head in his hands, which still smelled like smoke. He should’ve been in the house and died with his family, but instead he had gone to the school’s basketball game with Laura. 

At least Laura was alive though. His uncle Peter was in critical condition, and Derek wasn’t feeling optimistic about him making it, or ever returning to his normal self. They were the only ones left alive from his once large, proud family. 

He curled in on himself and waited for Laura to come out. She was older and they would ask her more questions than they did him. He could hear them through the door, as well as the tremor in her voice and smell the tears falling down her face.

Derek was surprised out of his eavesdropping by the feeling of a small hand wrapping around his own. Derek glared down to find the same ten-year-old from earlier looking up at him with a deep sadness and understanding in his light brown eyes.

He felt a tear fall down his cheek and Stiles already had a box of tissues in his other hand, offering them silently. 

Stiles griped Derek’s hand when Derek was about to pull away and Derek almost growled at him.

“My mom used to hug me or hold my hand when I was upset.” Stiles explained gently. “It’s not like it really makes the sadness go away, but the touch lets you know that someone is there. Having someone care softens the pain a little.”

Stiles’ expression was so open and free of judgment, so kind, that Derek sniffled and barely held back a sob.

“You can squeeze if you want.” Stiles said, moving their fingers together and squeezing lightly. “I can take it.”

Derek nodded, considering how much stronger he would have to be when Laura came out of the interrogation room. Holding a little boy’s hand was a small comfort.

He squeezed lightly and cried softly, letting himself grieve until he couldn’t take anymore and his body allowed him to drift off into sleep.

~

Stiles was woken up by the feeling of someone carrying him away and his hand gripped tighter to what he was holding.

He opened his eyes and found Derek waking up on the bench where they had fallen asleep.

“Wait!” Stiles pushed his dad lightly. “Dad, no. Wait.”

Derek had let go of Stiles’ hand and taken his sister’s instead.

“You’re…” Stiles swallowed uneasily. “Derek Hale.”

Derek nodded. 

“I’m Stiles.” Stiles held his hand out, shaking slightly. “Stiles Stilinski.”

Derek took the hand with a nod, but was taken by surprise by having an armful of Stiles. Derek held him for a moment before pulling away with a whispered “thank you.”

Stiles watched Derek walk out with Laura and looked down guiltily. “I’m sorry.”

His dad hadn’t heard him, instead smiling down at his son. “Thank you, son. I think you helped that boy a lot.”

The sheriff called for a deputy and he hurried off to help.

“I did that.” Stiles felt at his side where the birthmark was already changing again.

~

Time Jump

~

Derek and Laura were hanging out in their small apartment in New York when Laura decided that it was time to tease him again.

“How’s your soul mark doing?” Laura asked playfully, crossing her legs and settling down with her pretzel.

Derek’s soul mark had been growing for as far back as he could remember. When it was a sapling, it didn’t cause him too much trouble, but it was steadily growing into a strong tree now that he was older. It was tall and thin, but aside from growing, it remained unmoved and undisturbed.

“Has it moved yet?” Laura asked. “It’s kinda weird that it hasn’t. I remember one of the other packs had a wolf with a tree soul mark. It moved all the time. Even if it was just the wind blowing against it.”

“Soul marks are rare.” Derek reminded her. “They’re never the same as anyone else’s.”

“Do you think that your soul mate might be that girl that runs the deli across the street?” Laura asked, ignoring him.

“No.” Derek glared. “I’ve never even talked to her.”

“That’s exactly your problem.” Laura clipped him on the side of his head. “You have a soul mark, which means that you have a soul mate, and instead of looking for her, you cut yourself off from the world. If I were you, I’d be out there looking.”

“What if I don’t want my soul mate?” Derek asked, raising his eyebrows challengingly. 

“Then you’re an idiot.” Laura scoffed. “A tree signifies strength and stability. There’s someone out there made just for you and you don’t want them?”

“Peter didn’t want his either.” Derek shrugged.

Laura gave him a dangerous look and Derek looked away.

“Sorry.” Derek apologized. Uncle Peter was more or less a vegetable by now, ever since the fire.

“I’ve been thinking of visiting him.” Laura said quietly. “It’s been a while.”

Derek held his silence.

“You don’t have to come with me.” She sighed. “I know that you don’t like going back.”

“There’s nothing to go back to.” He told her firmly.

“Right.” Laura glared at him, her eyes flashing red for a moment. “There’s something I want to investigate there anyways. You stay here and I’ll go.”

“I’ll go.” Derek gave her a look. “But you can’t talk about my soul mate anymore.”

Laura cracked a smile. “It’s alright. I’d rather bug you about your soul mate later anyways. This shouldn’t take long. I’ll be back before the end of the week.”

“I should come with you anyways.” Derek said, worried.

“How about, I leave you in Vegas for a few days, and I’ll call you if I need anything?” Laura smirked. “That way, you have the opportunity to have fun, which you’ll probably ignore, but you won’t be as far away as you would be here in New York.”

Derek nodded.

“Besides.” Laura breathed in deeply. “I know how much you hate it back in Beacon Hills. This way, you don’t have to be there.”

Derek gave her a grateful smile and nodded.

Laura ruffled his hair, earning a glare, before heading to her room to pack a small suitcase.

Derek washed the dishes before packing his own duffel.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically this is a run-through of the first two seasons and how Sterek developed and why they were so hostile during the first two seasons. Hope you guys like it!

Stiles was inspecting his birthmark… if it could still be called that… it kept moving around. It used to be a simple paw, but it had started moving and changing about six years ago. First it had burned him pretty badly, as it had been engulfed in flames, but then it changed to a bunch of smaller footprints that were constantly moving over his body. They were currently making their way around his abdomen.

Anyways, he was in the process of looking over his unnatural mark when he heard his dad’s radio in the other room reporting a dead body. Stiles grabbed the keys to his Jeep and set off to his best friend Scott’s house.

Scott took a bit of convincing, but eventually they were on their way. They weren’t in the woods very long before the sheriff caught Stiles though. Stiles refused to let Scott get in trouble with him and covered for him, following his dad back to the police cars and waiting impatiently as one of the deputies stayed behind to make sure that Stiles stayed where he was.

Stiles drove home with a police car following him, and he couldn’t see Scott until the next day. He was worried, leaving Scott alone in the woods without a means of getting home, but at least he wasn’t in trouble with the sheriff’s department.

The next day, however, Stiles found out that Scott had been attacked by some kind of animal and they would have to go back to find his inhaler. 

~

Laura hadn’t called to check in for a few hours and Derek got worried. He was on the edge of Beacon Hills when he heard radio chatter of a young woman’s body being found. He raced to find out if it was Laura, horrified when he could only find the top half of her body in the woods.

He sniffed around for any clues as to what had happened, finding an inhaler on the ground. He growled low, smelling cheap cologne and sweat nearby, obviously from whoever had dropped the inhaler. He took a moment to clean some dirt off of Laura’s face before picking her up and carrying her back to the ruins of their old family home, so that she could be with the rest of their family.

~

“Hey, didn’t you say that the body was around here?” Stiles asked the next day, looking around. 

“I could have sworn this was it.” Scott said in confusion, looking around. “I saw the body, the deer came running. I dropped my inhaler.”

“Maybe the killer moved the body.” Stiles suggested. It seemed likely.

“If he did, I hope he left my inhaler.” Scott said, slightly frustrated. “Those things are like 80 bucks.”

Stiles thought that was a little bit insensitive, but before he could reply he was shocked to see a familiar face looking at them.

“What are you doing here? Huh?” Derek Hale asked aggressively as he approached them. “This is private property.”

“Sorry, man.” Stiles rubbed his head awkwardly. “We didn’t know.”

“Yeah, we were just looking for something but… forget it.” Scott added.

Derek threw Scott his inhaler before walking away.

“Alright, come on, man.” Scott said. “I gotta get to work.”

“Dude, that was Derek Hale.” Stiles said, feeling over the birthmark that had now made its way up to his chest. “He’s only a few years older than us. His family burned down in a fire like six years ago.”

“I wonder what he’s doing back.” Scott replied.

Stiles scoffed, ignoring an instinct to follow Derek. “Come on.”

Scott and Stiles made their way back to Stiles’ Jeep, but Stiles couldn’t help but turn back.

~

Derek felt an odd sensation, seeing Stiles again. He hadn’t expected it and wasn’t ready for the encounter. He wasn’t entirely sure why he even remembered him. Stiles had been someone that Derek had talked to six years ago and only briefly. Stiles had grown up though, tall and thin with ungraceful movements from growing up too fast and unsure of what to do with his gangly limbs.

A small voice in his head that sounded a lot like Laura reminded him. “Wolves have long term memories, especially when driven by a primal urge. I wouldn’t be surprised if you remembered everything your soul mate ever does for the rest of your lives. You won’t be able to help it.”

Derek shook his head, remembering that he had yet to find Laura’s killer. He didn’t have the time to consider his soul mark. And it certainly wasn’t Stiles. Stiles was just a kid.

~

All the while that Scott developed as a werewolf, Stiles’ relationship with Derek also developed.

The weird thing was, that Stiles was starting to experiment with his sexuality. He saw an attractive guy and he wondered, just harmless wondering, but he wondered what it might be like to be _with_ him. 

It started with Danny, honestly. Scott was hanging out with the popular kids, and Stiles took a notice of Danny, the one openly gay guy of the group. Stiles was pretty sure that Jackson was gay too, but also had extreme internalized homophobia. Danny was hot. He had amazing muscles and was really intelligent, and Stiles found himself more concerned about if he might be considered attractive to gay guys than Scott’s werewolf crisis.

Mostly, Stiles’ relationship with Derek really started when Stiles had to take care of Derek all the time that he was shot with a wolfsbane bullet. Stiles tried to be mad at Derek, to tell him to back off like Scott did, but Stiles couldn’t. Derek scared Stiles, and it wasn’t just the glaring and the scary werewolf part that he liked to play, it was how much Stiles realized that he would actually lose if Derek died. 

All the while that Scott spent trying to chase Derek away, Stiles tried to do the same. He wrapped himself defensively in anger. Doing his best to lash out at Derek, but he couldn’t let Derek go, and he didn’t really want to.

~

Stiles infuriated Derek. He was stubborn and loyal to a fault. He refused to back down from a fight, even when he couldn’t possibly win, yet somehow, he always managed to stay alive. Derek hated how reckless Stiles was with his own life. Always willing to sacrifice himself to save a friend, or even Derek. 

Derek wasn’t sure if he wanted to kill Stiles or lock him up in a basement for safekeeping the rest of his life. Derek could still hear Stiles’ frantic voice yelling at Scott when he thought that Derek was dead. It left Derek unsteady at times, and sent him reeling when he realized how upset Stiles really was when he had thought that the Alpha had killed him. Constantly antagonizing Scott about his boss, who was their suspect at the time.

Stiles continued to confuse Derek with his behavior the whole time that Derek was a fugitive and running from the sheriff’s department. Stiles could have given Derek up any time he wanted, but he helped him hide and continue their own investigation instead. What confused Derek the most, however, was when Stiles gave up going to his first lacrosse game playing first line to help Derek find out who the Alpha was. 

Stiles had entered the hospital with no regard for his own safety, to look for the Alpha. Derek hadn’t thought much of it at the time, but when he realized that his uncle Peter was the Alpha and ran in to find Stiles being cornered, Derek felt a surge of power and threw caution to the wind as he fought against his uncle.

~

It took a lot of teamwork to bring the Alpha down, and more problems continued to come up afterwards. 

Stiles was caught between Derek and Scott sometimes, knowing that Scott was right about Derek turning other people, but also wanting to side with Derek on the matter. A small part of him wanting to be part of Derek’s pack too.

Derek would never want him of course. Stiles was too spastic and unpredictable. He didn’t know how to follow orders and he would probably end up fighting with Derek over every decision that was made. Not to mention, Derek sort of hated Stiles. Stiles wasn’t exactly sure why, but he was pretty sure that it had to do with the fact that Stiles liked to be contrary. They constantly argued and there was no way that they could ever really get along outside of life and death situations. 

Still, Stiles wished that Derek could see more in him. Stiles appreciated Derek, despite everything, and he just wanted Derek to at least try to appreciate all that Stiles had done. Up until all of the Argents came back to town, Stiles had saved Derek’s life twice, hidden him from the sheriff’s department in his own home, helped find out who the Alpha was, and then set said Alpha on fire with a Molotov Cocktail that he had made on his own. 

He didn’t know why it was important for Derek to see him, but it was. And Stiles hated it.

~

Derek had seriously been considering asking Stiles to join his pack, but he knew that the better decision would be not to. If Stiles were just a human boy interfering, then there was a better chance of him surviving the war, but if he were to be discovered as a werewolf, then none of the Argents would pause to think about killing a teenaged boy. 

No, Derek couldn’t risk Stiles’ life like that. Besides, Peter had already offered Stiles the bite and Stiles had refused, and even if he hadn’t, he would probably end up starting a misfit pack with Scott. Just the two of them, like it had been before Derek came to town.

Stiles would be an incredible asset to the pack. He was intelligent and Derek knew that if he committed to the pack, then his loyalty alone would serve as a supernatural glue to keep the others from leaving. Derek smiled at the thought, seeing Stiles serving as his successor if anything were to happen to him. Stiles wouldn’t want that though, he’d probably end up risking his life to save Derek again. He had a knack for doing that.

When Isaac had been arrested, Stiles had been key to helping smuggle him out of the station. Isaac had broken free from the jail and was ready to attack Stiles, when again, that surge of protective power took over Derek and he used his Alpha abilities to force Isaac to back down.

“How’d you do that?” Stiles asked.

“I’m the Alpha.” Derek smiled. He felt cocky about his new abilities, but he allowed himself to be happy seeing Stiles helping him and safe. Something primal wanted to claim Stiles and mark him as untouchable to other werewolves, but afterthought forced him to consider that while it might scare away omegas and smaller packs, there was a bigger threat coming that would take advantage of such a thing.

Derek left with Isaac after Stiles offered to stay behind and explain everything. He took a moment to look back before ushering Isaac back underground to hide.

~

The day that the Kanima paralyzed Derek and Stiles had to hold Derek up to keep him from drowning, Stiles decided to ask him about his tattoos.

“So, the triskele is a family thing.” Stiles panted. “But what’s with the tree?”

Despite the cold, Derek managed to blush.

“Was that some kind of drunken mistake?” Stiles teased, spitting some water out of his mouth as he sunk a bit into the pool.

“Why does it matter?” Derek asked, glaring in Stiles’ general direction.

“It doesn’t.” Stiles shrugged, pulling Derek closer to him with a huff to keep them both afloat.

“You don’t-” Derek stopped himself from asking if Stiles had a weird birthmark. Of course he didn’t, and he was ridiculous to even consider Stiles a potential soul mate.

“Yes, I know how to swim.” Stiles said, misunderstanding. “I just never thought that I would have to carry about 200 pounds of muscle- dead weight- for almost 3 hours!”

Derek held back a smile. “Fine.”

Eventually Scott found them and scared the Kanima away, but Derek was looking at Stiles in an increasingly better light. The more time Derek spent with him, the more he realized how amazing Stiles was. He was incredibly young, but there was something in his eyes that Derek now recognized as a kindred spirit. 

Derek figured that it must be because they both suffered incredible losses too early in life.

~

Eventually, the group figured out that Matt from school was controlling Jackson as the Kanima to kill people. This led to an ugly confrontation at the sheriff’s department, and Derek was paralyzed again.

“This is the one controlling him?” Derek asked, lying down on the ground unable to move. “This kid?”

Stiles wished that Derek wouldn’t antagonize him.

“Well, Derek, not everyone’s lucky enough to be a big, bad werewolf.” Matt said, crouching over him. “Oh yeah, that’s- that’s right. I’ve learned a few things lately: werewolves, hunters, kanimas. It’s like a friggin’ Halloween party every full moon. Except for you, Stiles. What do you turn into?”

“Abominable snowman.” Stiles glared. “But uh, it’s more like a wintertime thing, you know, seasonal.”

Matt gave Jackson a look and Stiles was paralyzed right on top of Derek. 

Stiles knew that he shouldn’t have antagonized him, but he did. He couldn’t help it.

“You bitch.” Stiles struggled to say as he landed with his head on Derek’s shoulder.

He felt his tattoo move around on his chest, swirling around. Oddly enough, he thought he felt something moving on Derek’s chest too.

Derek grunted. “Get him off of me.”

“Oh, I don’t know, Derek.” Matt grinned. “I think you two make a pretty good pair. It must kinda suck though, to have all that power taken away with just a little cut to the back of the neck. I bet you’re not used to feeling this helpless.”

Derek felt helpless alright, but only because Stiles was still on top of him, half protecting him despite being paralyzed. He wouldn’t put it past the moron to have landed on him on purpose.

“Still got some teeth. Why don’t you get down here a little closer huh? We’ll see how helpless I am.” Derek replied.

“Yeah, bitch.” Stiles’ voice cracked against Derek’s shoulder.

Scott’s mom pulled up and Matt told him that he wouldn’t harm her if he did as he was told.

“Scott, don’t trust him.” Stiles warned.

Matt pulled Stiles’ body off of Derek’s and stepped on his neck.

Derek knew that Scott would protect Stiles, but he felt his heart rate kick up as Stiles struggled to breathe. Scott agreed to do what Matt asked, and Matt ordered Jackson to move Stiles and Derek and Scott followed him.

Derek was glad to have at least his hand on the small of Stiles’ back, something to assure him that Stiles was still there before they were dragged to another room.

Jackson was standing guard, but Stiles didn’t seem to care. “So, quite a pickle, huh?”

Derek sighed.

“What’re we gonna do?” Stiles asked.

“I can’t really do anything, Stiles.” Derek glared.

Stiles fell quiet and Derek felt a little bit bad.

“Do you have ants or something?” Derek asked, remembering an odd movement on Stiles’ chest while he was on top of him.

“What?” Stiles asked, looking at Derek through the corner of his eye.

“I felt something move on your chest.” Derek said as casually as possible.

“My hand was paralyzed on your private bits and you noticed a movement on my chest?” Stiles scoffed. “Besides, I felt something move on your chest, maybe you have ants.”

“Forget it.” Derek glared up at the ceiling.

Matt came back and shoved Scott into the room, confessing that he wanted the bestiary. 

Stiles and Derek shared a look.

He needed it because he was growing scales along his side. 

Stiles’ eyes widened as Matt and Scott left the room again.

“Hey, do you know what’s happening to Matt?” Stiles whispered.

“Well, the book’s not gonna help him.” Derek replied. “You can’t just break the rules, not like this.”

“What do you mean?” Stiles asked, forcing his head to move slightly to look at Derek.

“The universe balances things out.” Derek explained. “It always does.”

“Is it because he’s been using Jackson to kill people who don’t deserve it?” Stiles asked. 

“And killing people himself.” Derek added.

“So Matt breaks the rules of the kanima, he becomes the kanima.” Stiles said, trying to organize his thoughts.

Derek nodded. “Balance.”

“You think he’d believe us if we tell him that?” Stiles asked.

“Not likely.” Derek replied. 

“Okay, he’s gonna kill all of us when he gets that book, isn’t he?” Stiles said, less of a question and more of a statement as he started to panic slightly.

“Yep.” Derek confirmed.

“Alright, so what do we do?” Stiles asked. “Do we just sit here and wait to die?”

“Unless we can find a way to push the toxin out of my body faster.” Derek said with resignation.

Stiles looked over at him, wondering if he should say something about them.

“Like triggering the healing process.” Derek added.

Stiles raised an eyebrow at Derek before looking down to where Derek’s nails were digging into his jeans.

“What are you do- oh, gross.” Stiles complained.

Derek huffed.

“It is.” Stiles attempted to shrug. 

“Shut up.” Derek said harshly.

“Do werewolves get birthmarks?” Stiles said after a pause.

Derek looked over at Stiles curiously. “Why?”

“I have a birthmark, but it’s weird.” Stiles sighed. “Hey, do werewolves get moles?”

Derek glared up at the ceiling again.

“Do you have any moles?” Stiles asked, curiously looking over at Derek.

“No.” Derek replied.

“Well of course _you_ don’t.” Stiles snorted as though the idea was ridiculous. “You’re physically flawless, it’s unfair.”

Derek furrowed his brow.

“So is that hypothetical situation we talked about getting any less hypothetical.” Stiles asked to change the subject.

“Think so.” Derek grunted. “I can move my toes.”

Stiles resisted an eye roll. “Dude, I can move my toes.”

Derek looked around for a moment of embarrassment before the lights went out and he was able to focus on something else.

“What’s going on? What’s happening?” Matt screamed in the other room, just before gunshots were fired.

Scott came into the room shortly after, ready to help them.

Derek was already struggling to get up. “Take him, go!”

Scott carried Stiles away and Derek went in the other direction.

~

After Matt died and Jackson transformed from the kanima to a werewolf, Gerard Argent was stopped and the war between the hunters and werewolves in Beacon Hills ended. Derek’s next worry was the Alpha pack that was coming for him.

Stiles, however, was trying to keep Scott some company and give him support that he would definitely be needing after breaking up with Allison. Nevertheless, the idea of either of them getting a tattoo made him squeamish. 

“I don’t know man, are you sure about this?” Stiles asked as they waited for Scott to get his tattoo. “I mean, these things are pretty permanent, you know?”

“I’m not changing my mind.” Scott smiled.

“Okay, but why two bands?” Stiles asked. 

“I just like it.” Scott shrugged as the tattoo artist started disinfecting his arm.

“But don’t you think your first tattoo should have some sort of meaning, you know, or something?” Stiles asked, seriously hoping that Scott would reconsider.

“Getting a tattoo means something.” Scott shrugged. 

“I don’t think that’s-” Stiles was cut off by the tattoo artist.

“He’s right, tattooing goes back thousands of years.” He explained. “The Tahitian word ‘Tatua’ means ‘to leave a mark.’ Like a rite of passage.”

“Yeah, you see?” Scott said, obviously avoiding telling Stiles something. “He gets it.”

“He’s covered in tattoos, Scott.” Stiles turned to the artist. “Literally.”

“Okay, you ready?” He asked Scott, ignoring Stiles as Scott nodded. “You uh, ain’t got any problems with needles, do you?”

“Nope.” Scott shook his head.

“I tend to get a little squeamish though, so…” Stiles said, watching as the needle started on Scott’s skin.

Stiles started feeling lightheaded and blacked out.

A while later, Scott was done and Stiles was happy to be back in his Jeep, but Scott was making noises of discomfort.

“You okay?” Stiles asked, rubbing the back of his head from where it hurt from the fall.

“It kinda burns.” Scott said, looking at his arm in confused pain.

“Yes, you just had your skin stabbed about 100,000 times with a needle.” Stiles reminded him.

“Yeah, but I don’t think it’s supposed to feel like this.” Scott said, worried. 

Stiles was starting to get a little concerned too.

Scott started groaning in pain. “Oh, god. It’s definitely not supposed to feel like this. I gotta take this thing off.”

“No, no, no, no, Scott.” Stiles pleaded, he didn’t want to see the red, open wounded skin. “No, Scott, please stop!”

Scott ignored him and took the bandage off anyways, revealing his arm, already healing.

“Oh, no, what?” Scott said, watching his tattoo fade away. “No, no, come on. It healed.”

“Oh, thank God.” Stiles sighed. “I hated it.”

Scott gave him a look.

“Sorry…” Stiles apologized, starting the Jeep and driving away.

~

“You wanna ask Derek for help?” Stiles asked Scott the next day at school. “Why? Why?”

“He’s got the Triskele tattooed on his back, and a tree on his chest, so there has to be a way to do it without healing, right?” Scott said.

“Okay, yeah, but still.” Stiles shrugged. “Doesn’t he have his hands a little full?”

Stiles pointed at some pictures of Erica and Boyd on missing posters.

~

Isaac had gone missing a few days ago and Derek set out to find him. He checked his phone to find a bunch of missed calls from Scott’s mom, Melissa. Checking his voicemail on the way to the hospital confirmed that Isaac was there and alive.

When Derek got there, he heard fighting in the elevator, so he waited for the elevator to reach his floor and dug his nails into the back of an Alpha he found beating up Scott. 

He threw the Alpha across the hall and turned to Scott.

“Aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Derek asked.

Scott sighed and they set out to take Isaac to the old Hale house.

As they were walking through the door, Scott got a call from Stiles.

“We got a serious problem at school, Ms. Blake’s class-” Stiles said over the phone.

“Hey, can you tell me about it later?” Scott interrupted.

“Well, no, pretty sure this qualifies for immediate discussion.” Stiles replied. 

“Alright then, meet me at Derek’s.” Scott said, ready to hang up.

“Derek’s house?” Stiles asked, sounding slightly upset. “What the hell are you doing at-”

“Just meet us here, okay?” Scott interrupted before hanging up the phone. 

Derek laid Isaac out on a table and started looking for the thing he had come for.

“You don’t still live here, do you?” Scott asked.

“No, the county took it over but there’s something here that I need.” Derek replied. “It’ll help heal the wound from an Alpha.”

“Yeah, but it did heal.” Scott said, looking at Isaac.

“Not on the inside.” Derek followed Scott’s worried gaze at Isaac, passed out on the table.

“Okay, are you gonna tell me who that was back there? That Alpha?” Scott asked.

“A rival pack.” Derek told him. “It’s my problem. I know you wanna help and you did. I owe you one. Now go home. Go back to being a teenager.”

Derek stood up, finding the herbs that he needed and walking over to Isaac.

“Uh, hey, Derek.” Scott said, getting Derek’s attention. “If you wanna repay that favor now…there is something you can do for me.”

Derek looked over at Scott curiously.

~

Stiles ran up the steps to the old Hale house and Derek immediately looked up at him.

There was something in his eyes. Something worried that looked familiar.

“Hey.” Stiles breathed out gently before clearing his throat and going back to glaring at Derek.

“You said something happened at the school?” Scott asked, getting Stiles’ attention away from Derek.

“Yeah, these birds went crazy.” Stiles shook his head. “They slammed in through the windows and started killing themselves.”

Derek looked Stiles over carefully.

“What?” Stiles asked brusquely.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked, noticing Derek’s expression.

“Yeah, fine.” Stiles sighed. “Lydia got pretty freaked though.”

Derek moved to sit down and gestured for Scott to follow suit.

“He’s checking your tattoo?” Stiles asked.

“Yeah, I guess.” Scott said, extending his arm for Derek to see.

Derek’s eyes flashed red and he looked it over. “Yeah, I see it. It’s two bands, right?”

Scott nodded. 

“What does it mean?” Derek asked.

“I don’t know.” Scott said uneasily. “It’s just something I traced with my fingers.”

Scott traced two circles on the dust.

“Why is it so important to you?” Derek asked.

“Do you know what the word ‘tattoo’ means?” Scott asked.

Stiles leaned over to Derek. “To mark something.”

Derek looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

Stiles grinned at him in pride.

Derek kept his gaze on Stiles in amused confusion.

“Well, that’s in Tahitian.” Scott said. “In Samoan it means ‘open wound.’”

Derek turned back to look at Scott with a soft look on his face.

“I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned eighteen.” Scott said. “I always wanted one. I just decided to get it now to make it kind of a reward.”

“For what?” Derek asked, his expression gentle.

“For not calling or texting Allison all summer.” Scott replied.

There was a look of understanding on Derek’s face and his eyes slid in Stiles’ direction briefly before looking down. 

“Even when I really wanted to.” Scott sighed. “Even when it was so hard not to sometimes. I was trying to give her the space she wants.”

Derek’s shoulders slumped slightly, making Stiles want to reach out, but he kept his arms crossed.

“Even though four months later, it still hurts.” Scott continued. “It still feels like a, uh-”

“Like an open wound.” Stiles finished for him, seeing as Scott wouldn’t be able to say it.

“Yeah.” Scott agreed.

Derek smiled and turned around to look at Stiles as he grabbed a blowtorch. “Pain’s gonna be worse than anything you’ve ever felt.”

“Ah, that’s great.” Stiles said with a small squeak.

“Do it.” Scott said with determination.

Derek turned the blowtorch on and Stiles felt his heart rate start to rise.

“Oh, wow. That a- that’s a lot for me so I’m gonna take that as my cue. I’m just gonna wait outside.” Stiles pointed to the door and walked towards it.

Derek stretched his arm out, catching Stiles’ chest with a smile. “Nope. You can help hold him down.”

Derek pushed Stiles backwards and Stiles did as he was told, ignoring the satisfied smile on Derek’s face.

Derek’s eyes followed Stiles, waiting for Stiles to be ready before proceeding to burn Scott’s skin off.

“Oh, my God.” Stiles complained as the flames drew closer.

Derek carefully did his best to only trace the tattoo, but there was a contented smile on his face that made Stiles hate him a little bit as Scott screamed and squirmed.

“Hold him.” Derek scolded Stiles playfully.

Stiles did his best and Scott started to shift as he screamed until he passed out.

“So, what does your tattoo mean?” Stiles asked conversationally.

“It’s a triskele.” Derek rolled his eyes. “Alpha, Beta, Omega.”

“Yeah, I know that one.” Stiles scoffed. “The other one. The tree.”

Derek hesitated, his hand absently feeling over it on his chest through his shirt.

Stiles waited patiently for an answer, but when Derek didn’t reply, he caught Derek’s eye.

Derek’s expression was vulnerable for a moment before he looked away. “It symbolizes strength and stability.”

“Well, you’re strong but I wouldn’t call you the most stable guy I know.” Stiles teased, trying to ease the tension.

Surprisingly, Derek cracked a smile. “It’s not about me.”

“Oh.” Stiles said softly.

Derek looked up at Stiles before standing up. Stiles felt himself start moving to stand next to Derek, leaning back on his heels awkwardly.

“So, who did your tattoos?” Stiles asked.

“Laura.” Derek cleared his throat. “We had matching tattoos. Hers was on her wrist.”

Stiles wanted to reach out again, but Scott interrupted by waking up with a start. He looked over his tattoo with a smile.

“It worked!” Scott said happily.

Derek shared a last look with Stiles, ending their moment and walking away.

Stiles helped Scott up and they headed towards the door.

“Well, looks pretty damn permanent now.” Stiles said, trying to keep the resignation out of his tone.

“Yeah.” Scott said, rolling down his sleeve with a smile. “I kinda needed something permanent. Everything that’s happened to us- everything just changes so fast. Everything’s so, uh… ephemeral.”

“Studying for the PSATs?” Stiles asked, slightly impressed.

“Yep.” Scott replied.

“Nice.” Stiles nodded.

Scott opened the door and paused. “You painted the door.”

Derek looked up almost immediately.

“Why’d you paint the door?” Scott asked seriously.

“Go home, Scott.” Derek told him.

“And why only one side?” Scott asked, feeling over the paint.

Scott started scratching away at the paint with his claws and Derek walked up to them.

“Scott!” Derek said warningly.

“The birds at school and the deer last night, just like the night I got trampled by the deer when I got bit by the Alpha. How many are there?” Scott asked.

“A pack of them.” Derek said, resigned. “An Alpha pack.”

“All of them?” Stiles asked, confused. “How does that even work?”

“I hear there’s some kind of a leader. He’s called Deucalion.” Derek answered, watching Stiles carefully before shaking himself off a bit and looking at Scott. “We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac, and I have been looking for him for the last four months.”

“Let’s say you find them.” Scott said, stepping forward. “How do you deal with them?”

“With all the help I can get.” Derek replied, watching Stiles’ eyes look up at him in understanding.

Stiles was conflicted. He knew that Scott would want and need to help Derek, but while Stiles was ready to help, the very real possibility of losing Scott held him back.

Scott turned around to look at Stiles and Stiles silently agreed to help.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not the best place to end the chapter but I'll be updating soon, I promise! I'm probably going to stick closer to canon for the run-through of season 3 parts 1 and 2, but Sterek's budding relationship is always going to be there. They just can't seem to figure anything out on their own, poor boys.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Almost thought that I woudn't be able to post :O Enjoy!

Derek wasn’t sure about wanting Stiles’ help. The same things that kept him from turning Stiles back when he was building his pack, were holding him back even more now. 

Stiles had seemed to grow a lot over the summer. His hair was longer and, despite still being pale and skinny, he had a kind of strength that radiated off of him. What worried Derek the most though, was that all of the growth that he saw in Stiles, seemed to appear on the tree on Derek’s chest. The roots grew longer and a few new branches were stemming from it.

Derek tried his best to avoid Stiles, because if anyone would be able to sniff out his feelings towards him, it would be Deucalion. If Deucalion figured that out, especially about Derek’s soul mark, he would exploit it and possibly kill Stiles just to get what he wanted.

Stiles continued to come through for them, completely disregarding the fact that he was human and didn’t have the same strength and ability to heal that Derek and the others had. Stiles was infuriatingly annoying and he had an odd ability to ease the tension in a room that calmed Derek. It didn’t help that Stiles had gotten to know Derek well enough by now to catch on to small glances and what they meant. And when they found out where Boyd and Erica were being kept, Stiles was the one to steal the plans of the bank.

Stiles was also the one to figure out how to break into the bank vault and volunteered to help Derek get into the vault. An idea that Derek slammed down before Stiles could even finish making. He was going down to save Boyd, and Erica if she was still alive, but he wasn’t willing to risk Stiles to do it. He would do it alone if he had to.

Scott volunteered, which made Stiles worry enough to figure out that it was a trap. Sadly, because he was mostly ignored for being worried, he wasn’t able to find out in time to stop them from entering the trap, but he was able to get help on the way.

Erica turned out to be dead, but Derek was surprised to find his sister Cora alive in the vault with Boyd. After they escaped the vault, Derek enlisted Chris Argent’s help in tracking them down and finding them. They wound up at the school, and Derek was locked in the basement with Boyd and Cora trying to kill him and each other. 

That was when Derek met Ms. Blake. 

That was when things changed.

~

Aside from the Alpha pack threat, someone was committing human sacrifices, one of which was an old friend of Stiles’. Not to mention, all of them were virgins… like Stiles.

“Why are you talking like he’s already dead? He’s just missing.” Scott said in the locker room about a client that had come into the vet clinic the night before and had disappeared.

“Missing and presumed dead because he’s probably a virgin, Scott.” Stiles replied anxiously. “And you know who else is a virgin? Me. I’m a virgin, okay? And you know what that means? It means that my lack of sexual experience is now literally a threat to my life!”

Scott rolled his eyes. 

“Okay, I need to have sex, like, right now.” Stiles said, his anxiety making his heart beat faster and his voice raise. “Someone needs to have sex with me, like, today. Like, someone needs to sex me right now!”

Stiles slammed his locker shut, having changed his outer shirts already and Danny’s face popped out from behind it. 

Stiles yelped.

“Alright, I’ll do it.” Danny offered.

“What?” Stiles asked, surprised. He had had a small crush on Danny before…

“Come to my place at nine, plan to stay the night.” Danny smirked, giving Stiles a once-over. “I like to cuddle.”

“Oh, that was so sweet.” Stiles smiled gently. “Are you kidding?”

“Yes, I’m kidding!” Danny laughed before walking away.

“Okay, you know, you don’t toy with a guy’s emotions like that, Danny!” Stiles told him. “It’s not attractive, alright?”

Danny shrugged and continued smiling as he walked out the door. 

A few minutes later, the body of the client they had been talking about showed up on the cross-country trail while they were running.

~

After battling the Alphas and almost dying, Derek somehow fell into a relationship with Jennifer Blake. 

He wouldn’t admit it, but she made him feel stronger. She was someone that he had managed to save on his own at a time that he felt helpless to save anyone. It was sad and a little bit pathetic, but she had good qualities too, and she cared about him.

Stiles was busy helping Scott figure out the human sacrifices and Derek was busy dealing with the Alphas, so they didn’t spend a lot of time together. However, the night that the twins helped Kali kill Boyd, Stiles found out about Jennifer.

Losing Boyd had been a lot to take in, and he started to feel isolated from the others. Stiles finding out about his relationship with Jennifer only added to his list of problems, because somehow it made him think that he had damaged his relationship with Stiles. Worse yet, was the thought that Stiles wouldn’t care, but Derek couldn’t bring himself to even wonder why it would be worse or why he was feeling any of it.

Derek ran off, the feelings of loss and hurt that he had held onto since he was fifteen and lost Paige came back even stronger than since his family had died in the fire. Only this time, Stiles wasn’t there to hold his hand and indulge Derek’s need to cry.

A few days on his own, Derek managed to sort himself out and give himself over to Jennifer completely, deciding that it was best not to indulge his feelings for Stiles. There was no way that someone so infuriating and drove Derek up every wall imaginable, could be his soul mate. Jennifer was stronger than originally anticipated, and she was there when he was ready to return to face his problems. Maybe she was his soul mate.

~

When Derek disappeared, Stiles was more than a little bit worried. The paw print birthmark was changing again. He couldn’t remember where it had been when he was born, but it had been one paw print on his right side when he was eight and lost his mother. When Stiles was ten, the paw print took on flames around it as though on fire, and Stiles noticed that it looked more like a tattoo than a birthmark and took a snapshot of it. Shortly after, the paw print became several, covering his whole side, as though running away from him. 

The paw prints made their way up to his chest, in a trail leading to Stiles’ heart, and Stiles couldn’t explain it. For a while, there was a spiral in the middle of the paw prints, but it had disappeared after a while. He had been meaning to ask Deaton, but Deaton specialized in werewolves, not weird birthmarks that moved around like tattoos in Harry Potter’s world. Something about the mark unsettled Stiles, and he wasn’t able to change shirts in public (the locker room) in case someone noticed that he had markings that constantly changed on his skin. Luckily for him, he was terrible at lacrosse and none of the other players really noticed him, so the fact that he never really changed out of his under shirt went overlooked. 

Lately, however, the birthmark had been acting stranger than usual. The paw prints hadn’t moved from his chest for a while, but it seemed as though they were purposely avoiding actually settling over his heart.

Stiles didn’t have time to worry about his abnormality now. He went to find Derek at his loft, only to find that Peter and Cora were there and didn’t know where he was either. Stiles listened to Peter tell the story of how Derek lost his first love in Paige when he was only fifteen, sparking a familiar memory of talking to Derek when Stiles was just barely eight. Losing his mom had been one of the only things he remembered from that year and he was a little shaken to remember talking to Derek. Again, he shook it off since he had more important things to worry about.

The more important things to worry about were that someone had killed a deputy and a teacher had gone missing. More people being sacrificed. 

Stiles was shocked to find that Ms. Blake was the one abducting people, but he had to find his dad and he only had one lead: Derek.

Stiles swallowed around the lump in his throat and hurried to find Derek. Scott told him to slow down, what with a storm threatening them and the roads getting slippery, but Stiles couldn’t slow down. He had to save his dad.

“Derek!” Stiles screamed, barging into the loft and setting off the alarm system.

Derek came running down the stairs in confusion and turned off the alarm.

“It’s your girlfriend.” Stiles said, not sugar-coating anything. “She’s-”

“Derek,” Scott cut in. “Jennifer is the Durach. I’m sorry that it turned out this way and that this is how you have to find out, but we don’t have a lot of time. She has Stiles’ dad.”

“She has my dad.” Stiles said, ashamed at how his voice cracked. 

Derek looked absolutely crushed for a moment, but he cleared his face of emotion. “She’s here. You should hide.”

Scott pulled Stiles by the sleeve to watch what would happen from a hidden area.

“Derek? Derek where are you?” Jennifer opened the door.

“Right here.” Derek said, catching her in his arms.

“Oh, thank God.” Jennifer panted, tired from running. “Something happened, at the recital, at the school. Okay, I need to tell you before you hear it, before you hear any of it from them.”

“From who?” Derek asked gently.

“Scott, Stiles.” Jennifer replied. “They’re gonna tell you things, things you can’t believe. You have to trust me, okay? You have to trust _me_.”

“What is it?” Derek asked, looking confused.

“Promise you’ll listen to me.” Jennifer said.

“Promise.” Derek nodded.

Even though Stiles wasn’t at a good angle and Jennifer was kissing Derek, the slight droop in Derek’s shoulder revealed how sad he really was with the news.

“They’re already here, aren’t they?” Jennifer asked, pulling away from the kiss.

Derek turned to look at Stiles and Scott’s general area and they walked out into the open.

Jennifer turned around. “So, they told you it was me? That I’m the one taking people?”

“We told him you’re the one _killing_ people.” Scott said angrily.

Stiles could barely hold back his tears at this point, but he was just as angry as Scott.

“Oh, that’s right.” Jennifer scoffed. “Committing human sacrifices. What, cutting their throats? Yeah, I probably do it on my lunch hour that way I can get back to teaching high school English the rest of the day. That makes perfect sense.”

Stiles glared at her, but couldn’t help noticing the heartbroken expression on Derek’s face. He could tell that Derek didn’t want to believe them, but he did anyways.

“Where’s my dad.” Stiles asked, unable to help a tear from falling.

“How should I know?” Jennifer asked, turning to Derek. “Derek, tell me you don’t believe this.”

Derek looked back at Stiles, their eyes meeting for a moment in shared sadness in a way they hadn’t since they were both too young to handle things. This time, Derek was the one that could do something to help Stiles.

“Do you know what happened to Stiles’ father?” Derek asked, turning back to look at Jennifer.

“No.” Jennifer shook her head. 

“Ask her why she almost killed Lydia.” Scott said, getting Jennifer’s attention again.

“Lydia Martin?” Jennifer asked skeptically. “I don’t know anything about that.”

Stiles could pinpoint the exact moment that Derek’s sadness became anger, because Derek turned to look at Stiles with something of a promise in his eyes.

“What do you know?” Derek asked, interrogatively.

“I know that these boys, for whatever misguided reason, are filling your head with an absurd story.” Jennifer said, sticking to her lie. “And one they can’t prove, by the way.”

Scott lifted a jar that Deaton had given him. “What if we can?”

“What is that?” Jennifer asked, a slight tremor in her voice.

“My boss told me it’s a poison and a cure.” Scott said, twisting the top off. “Which means that you can use it, and it can be used against you.”

“Mistletoe?” Jennifer said, looking angry.

Scott threw the powdered mistletoe on her, forcing her to shift into her Durach form. Her true form was absolutely repulsive. Practically a mutilated corpse with half of its face slashed off.

Derek almost recoiled, but when she tried to get away, he caught her by the throat.

“Derek, wait, wait, wait.” Jennifer pleaded as he extended his claws. “You need me.”

“What are you?” Derek asked, angry and disgusted.

“The only person who can save your sister.” Jennifer gasped, choking. “Call Peter. Call him!”

Derek didn’t let go of her even as he dialed the phone.

“It’s not good.” Peter told him. “She’s in and out of consciousness, she’s vomiting up black blood along with another alarming substance.”

“Mistletoe.” Derek said.

“How did you know that?” Peter asked, confused.

Derek hung up the phone and tightened his grip, causing Jennifer to writhe in pain.

“Derek.” Scott said. “Derek, what are you doing?”

“Her life, it’s in my hands.” Jennifer gasped out.

Derek lifted her, willing her neck to snap.

Stiles couldn’t take it anymore and stormed forward. “Stop, Derek. Stop!” 

“Stilinski, you’ll never find him.” Jennifer said, seeing Stiles as the only hope she had of getting Derek to calm down.

Stiles stopped dead in his tracks, a wave of anxiety passing through him.

“Derek.” Scott said again. “DEREK!”

Derek tossed her to the ground.

“That’s right.” Jennifer said smugly. “You need me. All of you.”

Derek glared angrily at her, looking up to see Stiles’ expression filled with hate as he glared down at her too. 

~

Derek drove her to the hospital to save Cora as she tried to tell him how connected they were, but she had made Stiles cry, and he hated her.

Scott told his mom that they needed to get Cora and she told him about two ambulances that would be in ready to take her to another hospital in twenty minutes. After that, they made their way up in the elevator, only to find Peter having a hard time fighting the twins in their Alpha form. 

Derek charged at them and Scott followed shortly after. Stiles and Peter set out to help Cora and Jennifer escaped back through the elevator.

They continued on their way, the most important part being helping Cora and escaping the twins.

Stiles paused for a moment.

“Don’t stop! Don’t stop!” Derek yelled, urging them forward, but Stiles held back anyways, infuriating Derek. “Stiles!”

Stiles hid behind a door, leaving Derek extremely confused and worried for a moment. When the twins came in through the door, Stiles hit them over the head with the baseball bat, breaking it in half.

Derek wanted to ring his neck. Another show of his dumb bravery and readiness to die for his friends.

The twins turned around in annoyance and growled warningly, but allowed Stiles to tiptoe his way back towards Derek and Scott who already had their claws out.

Scott slammed the overhead light into them, electrocuting them enough to leave them stunned and give them time to escape.

They followed Peter as he laid Cora down on a bed for a break. Derek secured the doors behind them.

“Where’s the big guy?” Stiles asked.

“He’s close.” Derek said, looking through the windows.

“What about Ms. Blake?” Stiles asked, turning around and seeing Scott shake his head at him. “What do you mean? What does that mean, like, she’s gone? Scott, are you kidding me?”

“Shh, quiet!” Derek said harshly. 

“Me be quiet? Me? Huh?” Stiles challenged, getting in Derek’s face. “Are you telling me what to do now? When your psychotic, mass murdering girlfriend- the second one you’ve dated, by the way- has got my dad somewhere, tied up, waiting to be ritually sacrificed?”

Stiles was right, of course, but Derek could have replied if he weren’t so stunned. He knew that he was to blame, but that didn’t usually stop him from countering. What surprised him was that he saw the panic in Stiles’ eyes, knowing that he needed someone to blame other than himself. The memory of Stiles being a ten year old kid telling Derek to stay away from him because he was bad luck, so blatantly staring back at him. If Stiles needed Derek to take the blame, then he would. Trees could only be strong and stable if properly nurtured.

“Stiles, they’re still out there.” Scott cut in, getting Stiles to back off of Derek a bit. 

“And- and they want her, right?” Stiles stuttered, unrelenting as he focused back on Derek. “Which means now we don’t have her either, so my dad and Cora are both dead!”

“Not yet.” Peter said stubbornly.

Seeing that Stiles wasn’t ready to back down, Scott turned to Peter. “Is she really dying?”

“She’s definitely not getting any better.” Peter replied with worry, petting some of Cora’s sweaty hair out of her face.

“There has to be something that we can do.” Scott said. “We have to help her.”

Jennifer burst in through the doors. “You can’t. Only I can. I can save her, and I can tell you where Sheriff Stilinski is, but there is a pack of Alphas in this hospital that want me dead. So I’ll help you, but only when I’m out of here and safe. Only then.”

Derek felt a rush of anger, knowing that despite Stiles needing to blame him, Jennifer was the one to really blame. He charged at her, ready to kill.

“Derek, wait.” Scott said, catching him before he could do any real damage.

“She was trying to get out.” Derek pointed angrily.

“I was trying to keep from getting killed.” Jennifer defended. “You can’t blame me for that.”

“If you want to show that you’re one of the good guys, then heal her.” Stiles said, already stepping behind Derek and taking his side. 

“Not until I’m safe.” Jennifer replied stubbornly.

“I’d like to volunteer a different method of persuasion.” Peter cut in with a quiet rage boiling beneath the surface. “Let’s torture her.”

“Works for me.” Derek said, pushing Scott off of him. 

The P.A. system squeaked and Melissa’s voice came through the speakers. “Um, can I have your attention? Mr. Deucalion- excuse me, just Deucalion- requests that you bring the woman calling herself Jennifer Blake to the E.R. reception. Do this and everyone else can leave. You have ten minutes.”

Derek struggled internally for a moment, but he knew that the decision was Scott’s to make.

“He’s not gonna hurt her.” Jennifer tried, but Derek interrupted her.

“Shut up.” Derek said angrily.

“He won’t!” Jennifer said firmly, turning to Scott. “Scott, you know why. Tell them it’s true.”

“What does she mean?” Derek asked calmly.

Jennifer waited for a minute, but Scott didn’t seem to be very sure of himself.

“You’re not the only one he wants in his pack.” Jennifer answered him.

She explained about how Scott was a True Alpha, the kind that became an Alpha by the force of his own will.

Scott decided that Deucalion wouldn’t harm his mother, and that the priority was to get Jennifer out of the hospital to help Cora and lead them to Stiles’ dad. He would stay behind with Peter to fight off the twins while Derek and Stiles took Cora and Jennifer to safety.

Peter, however, wanted to face the twins with an advantage, so they started rummaging through the room they were in for anything that might help them slow down the twins.

“Hey, wait. What about these?” Stiles asked, picking up some defibrillators and looking to Derek for confirmation.

“Do you know how to use those?” Derek asked patiently.

“Well…no.” Stiles replied.

“Put ‘em down.” Derek instructed.

Stiles did as he was told, but Derek caught the slightest glare coming in his direction. It was nice and familiar despite the situation.

“Epinephrine?” Scott asked, picking up a needle.

“That’s only gonna make him stronger.” Derek answered, rummaging around in a drawer. 

Peter perked up. “How strong?”

Stiles looked up at Derek and Derek caught his eye, silently agreeing that it was worth a shot.

“Give it to him.” Derek told Scott, and Scott handed the syringe to Peter.

Peter injected himself with the Epinephrine and Scott followed after him to distract the twins, giving Derek enough time to pick up Cora and lead Stiles and Jennifer towards the ambulances.

“It’s still here.” Stiles said, opening the door to find the ambulance still in the garage. 

Stiles rushed to open the back doors of the ambulance to help Derek arrange Cora inside. Stiles touched Derek’s arm briefly, a small reassuring gesture, bringing Derek’s memory back again to when Stiles had held Derek’s hand in the sheriff’s department when he was seventeen. Derek looked up at him in shock before Jennifer was calling for him again.

“Derek, over here.” She said.

Derek could still feel Stiles’ warmth on his arm and his arm stayed outstretched towards Stiles for just a moment longer as he peered over to look at Jennifer.

 

Derek turned around for just a moment to look at Stiles, to try to catch his eye again, but Stiles looked away, fumbling with Cora and ignoring Derek again.

Derek walked over to see what Jennifer was looking at and found an EMT dead on the floor next to the driver’s side door. They slowly made their way towards the body but a voice made them pause.

“Julia.” Kali’s voice called, the sound of keys jingling following closely after as she revealed herself. “It is you.”

Derek stepped in front of her instinctively, knowing that he had more important things to protect in the ambulance. 

“You can’t beat her on your own.” Jennifer told him.

“That’s why we’re gonna run.” Derek said, giving Jennifer a head start before following her.

They ran back inside as Kali growled.

“Wait, wait! The elevator!” Jennifer yelled as Derek was ready to head down the hall.

Derek tossed a gurney in Kali’s direction before running into the elevator. They were barely safe when the elevator stopped. 

Out of all the people to be stuck in an elevator with, Derek’s luck forced him to be stuck in the small, confined space with this bitch.

Derek opened the doors to see if they could squeeze out, but they couldn’t. He looked up.

“If you’re thinking service hatch, they bolt from the outside. You’d have to break it.” Jennifer said. “All you’d end up doing is creating a lot of noise, telling them exactly where we are.”

“Kali already knows.” Derek said, still considering his options. 

“Not necessarily.” Jennifer argued. “She saw that we got in, but she might not know that we didn’t get out.”

“Yeah, well, if I can get through then we can go to another floor.” Derek informed her. 

“Or you’d end up fighting them alone in an elevator shaft.” Jennifer reminded him. “They’ll rip my head off before you even have a chance to land a punch.”

“Then someone needs to get the backup generator running again.” Derek said, pulling out his phone to text Scott. 

His phone vibrated and he read the message aloud. “Don’t move, on our way.”

Derek waited in silence for a few moments, wondering if Stiles was okay. He stared at his phone, wondering if Stiles might text him. Did Stiles care if Derek was okay?

“Anything?” Jennifer asked, seeing Derek staring at his phone.

He ignored her.

“Derek, I know what you’re thinking.” Jennifer said. “That I’m using you. That everything that happened between us is a lie, or that I’m evil. A bitch. But I hope you’re not thinking the most superficial thought… ‘is that her real face? The slashed, mutilated face revealed by the mistletoe… is that what she really looks like?’”

Derek hadn’t really thought about that. After the initial shock of the reveal, he only knew that he had to do whatever it took to help Stiles get his father back, and save Cora. Jennifer had been a nice distraction, but when it came right down to it, she wasn’t who he really felt was right for him. He had been using her in a way, so her using him only evened the playing field. The thing that pissed him off was that she was a mass-murdering psychopath, like Kate. Costing him the lives of those he cared about. Again.

“Julia Baccari.” Jennifer told him. “That was my name.

“I don’t care.” Derek replied, not looking at her.

“I guess I should have changed it to something with different first letters.” She continued. “I think I read somewhere that people always pick aliases that are subconsciously derivative of their original name.”

Derek stopped himself from rolling his eyes. He really didn’t care about what she had to say. 

“It’s a way of not completely letting go of your identity, since your name is so tied to your sense of self.” Jennifer kept talking despite Derek obviously not caring. “Do you know what else is? Your face. The one that’s supposed to be staring back at you in the mirror. Not some hacked up atrocity you can’t even recognize.”

“I still don’t care.” Derek told her, since she obviously wasn’t reading his body language. Stiles would have.

“But I bet you’re curious.” Jennifer said, getting closer to him. “I bet you wonder exactly what happened.”

“You were an emissary.” Derek finally looked at her, annoyed. “They tried killing you along with the rest of the pack. Mystery solved.”

“I was Kali’s emissary.” Jennifer clarified.

Derek was back to not caring.

“I was the one she couldn’t kill.” Jennifer said with a smugness in her tone. “For years, the Nemeton’s power was virtually gone, like the dying ember of a burned out fire. But a few months earlier, something happened that caused that ember to glow a little brighter. Something that gave it a spark of power again. The sacrifice of a virgin. You didn’t know what you were doing back then, but killing Paige in the root cellar, sacrificing her there gave power to the Nemeton.”

Derek felt a wave of guilt at her words. It had been his fault. He had been the one to kill Paige, and her death resulted in the lives of six more people, and there were still three more to go. One of which would be Stiles’ father.

“You gave it power again.” Jennifer said, her voice cracking. “You gave me power. Just enough to hold on to life a little longer. Long enough to be found.”

Derek looked down, thinking back nine years ago to when it had first happened. Jennifer took a moment to compose herself and Derek was glad to have a moment of silence. He couldn’t help wondering though, if maybe she had been his soul mate. It was a ridiculous idea, but she was using the Nemeton to gain power. The Nemeton was a tree and his soul mark was a strong tree. What if all the time he thought that his soul mate was growing, was just Jennifer healing and getting her strength back. They were connected by the Nemeton. 

Derek felt ill.

“You know mistletoe is important to Druids, but do you know the myth of why people kiss under mistletoe?” Jennifer asked, breaking the silence again. 

“No.” Derek replied, guilty and upset. 

“It’s a Norse myth.” Jennifer informed him. “Baldur, the son of Odin, was the most beloved by the other gods, so much that they wanted to protect him from all the dangers in the world. His mother, Frigg, took an oath from fire and water, metal, stone, and every living thing, that they would never hurt Baldur. At a gathering, they tested him. Stones, arrows, and flames were all hurled at him, nothing worked. But there was one god who wasn’t so enamored of Baldur. The god of mischief: Loki.”

Derek’s eyes slid in her direction, interested.

“Loki discovered that Frigg had forgotten to ask mistletoe, a tiny, seemingly harmless plant, and completely overlooked.” Jennifer continued, catching Derek’s gaze. “Loki fashioned a dart out of mistletoe, and it killed Baldur. Frigg was heartbroken. She decreed that mistletoe would never again be used as a weapon, and that she would place a kiss on anyone who passed under it. So now we hang mistletoe on our door during the holidays…so that we will never overlook it again.”

Watching her, Derek noticed her expression fall, turning angry again. 

“We were the overlooked: the emissaries.” Jennifer went on and Derek looked away again. “It was a mistake Deucalion and the Alphas should never have made, because I made an oath of my own. From virgins and warriors, from healers, philosophers, and guardians, to loan me their power so that I could teach these monsters that their monstrous actions would never be overlooked.”

Derek looked up at her in disgust. “You killed innocent people.”

“So have you.” She countered. “I know the real color of your eyes Derek, and I know what it means. I’m not asking you to save just my life, I’m asking you to save everyone they’ll ever hurt again.”

“You can’t beat them.” Derek shook his head.

“Are you sure about that?” Jennifer asked. “Boyd asked you right before he died what happens to a werewolf during a lunar eclipse. You didn’t get the chance to tell him, but you know, don’t you? What happens, Derek, during the total lunar eclipse?”

“We lose all our power.” Derek replied.

Jennifer smirked.

~

Stiles felt like he had been waiting forever with just Peter and Cora in the ambulance, but the Argent’s plan worked and they were ready to leave. Stiles happened to look at a sheet of paper in the ambulance and realized that Jennifer had come, not for Cora, but for Melissa. 

He ran to tell Scott, but on his way, he found Derek passed out in the elevator. A flash of panic and terror passed through him but he had to get to Scott. He pushed his own feelings aside to follow Scott up to the roof. He was too late, because Scott was already walking towards Deucalion.

“Scott.” Stiles said, causing Scott to pause. “Scott, don’t do this, don’t go with him.”

“I don’t know what else to do.” Scott confessed. 

“No, there’s g- Scott, there’s got to be something else, okay?” Stiles said, half-pleading. “We always- we always have a plan B.”

“Not this time.” Scott shook his head and turned around.

“Scott.” Stiles called again, feeling helpless. 

“I’m gonna find your dad. I promise.” Scott told him.

Stiles felt incredibly conflicted. He didn’t know where his dad was and now he was losing Scott. He wasn’t sure if he could risk one for the other, but it wasn’t like he really had a choice.

“Scott!” Stiles said, calling for his best friend as he walked away, but Scott didn’t turn around.

Stiles made his way back down the stairs to get back to Derek. Derek who might not even be alive, seeing how things were going. 

Making his way over to Derek’s body, Stiles’ heart stopped. He wasn’t moving, and he didn’t look to be breathing. Stiles considered doing CPR on Derek like he had on Cora, but if Derek woke up to find Stiles’ lips on his, Stiles would be the one dead. While that seemed like a viable option for a moment, Derek would be able to help Scott more than Stiles, Stiles still needed to make sure that his dad was okay.

Stiles tried shaking Derek, but that didn’t work so he started slapping Derek across the face, calling his name desperately. 

“Derek!” Stiles yelled, his voice breaking a little bit as he landed another slap. “Derek, come on!”

Stiles shook him again, ready to break down and cry but slapping Derek again despite it not working. 

He made a fist with his hand, ready to punch Derek in the face with everything he had, but Derek caught his arm and looked up at him with confusion.

They stayed there for a few moments, assessing each other. Derek’s hand still wrapped around Stiles’ arm as he looked him over. Stiles swallowed hard, but refused to pull away. Derek’s grip was loosening, but he wasn’t letting go, even when he broke eye contact to look passed Stiles.

“Where is she?” Derek asked.

“Jennifer? Gone, with Scott’s mom.” Stiles informed him, his anxiety kicking back into high gear, but Derek’s hand on his arm helped him focus.

“She took her?” Derek asked, watching Stiles with worry.

“Yeah, and if that’s not enough of a kick to the balls, Scott left with Deucalion, okay? So we gotta get you out of here.” Stiles updated him quickly. “Okay? The police are coming right now and we gotta get you the hell out of here.”

Stiles placed his free hand on Derek’s arm and used the grip that Derek had on his to pull him up. 

“Woah.” Derek said, his grip tightening. “What about Cora?”

Stiles placed his free hand on Derek’s shoulder reassuringly. “She made it out with Peter and Isaac.”

Derek looked at him gratefully and nodded.

Stiles pulled Derek up the rest of the way and they looked each other over for a minute. Derek looked like he wanted to say something, but they didn’t have time.

“Go!” Stiles said, pushing Derek lightly. “I’ll stall the cops, okay? You go help Cora.”

Derek’s lips thinned but he did as he was told, looking back at Stiles before heading out in a sprint to his car. 

~

They managed to deal with the Alpha threat and the Durach, but Derek had taken a page out of Stiles and Scott’s book and sacrificed his Alpha power to save Cora. It wasn’t hard to do, not after completely failing his pack and seeing how the power corrupted everyone it touched. Besides, Scott had become an Alpha, a true Alpha, on his own, so Isaac had a new pack to join. Seeing that he wasn’t needed anymore, Derek decided to leave Beacon Hills with Cora. But there was someone that he wanted to say goodbye to before disappearing.

“Yo, dad, want me to pop some popcorn for the movie?” Stiles called, changing out of his shirt as Derek snuck in through the window.

Stiles heard the movement and whipped around, tossing his shirt at Derek’s face before he could realize who it was sneaking in through his window.

“Oh.” Stiles pressed his lips together awkwardly. “Sorry, hey.”

Derek was ready to be annoyed, but what he saw on Stiles’ chest surprised him. His eyes widened and he sucked in a breath.

Stiles looked down, realizing that he was shirtless and fumbled to put a shirt on.

There was a tense silence as Derek stared at where the mark had been on Stiles’ chest, just beneath the red shirt that he had slipped on.

“I…” Derek cleared his throat. “I didn’t know you had a tattoo. You’ve never mentioned it.”

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled awkwardly. “It’s nothing, just a weird birthmark.”

Derek’s eyes flickered up to Stiles’. He closed his mouth and stared at Stiles with wide eyes.

“It’s not that bad, is it?” Stiles asked, looking unsure of what to do with himself.

“It’s paw prints…” Derek squinted. “Around your heart.”

Stiles bit his lip. “Yeah, yep. That’s what it is.”

Derek was confused by Stiles’ behavior before remembering that if it was a soul mark, then it moved. “Does it ever... move?”

Stiles’ face became completely serious and his eyes searched for something in Derek’s.

“Do you know- have you seen something like that before?” Stiles asked.

Derek paused, looking down. He wanted to check his own mark, but he didn’t want Stiles to know that he had one.

“Derek?” Stiles asked, stepping forward.

“Uh, maybe.” Derek said, stepping closer to Stiles. “Let me see it again?”

Stiles looked unsure and he looked to the door to check if his dad was coming. Derek watched him for a few more moments as he made a decision and closed the door. Stiles hesitated as he took his shirt off and kept his distance.

Derek cautiously made his way towards Stiles, stopping when he saw Stiles instinctively step back, bumping his legs against the bed. His heart was racing, but so was Derek’s.

He got slightly closer than necessary and Stiles licked his lips nervously, his eyes swimming over Derek’s face. Derek remembered that his mother told him that the only way to know for sure that someone was your soul mate was if your mark moved when they touched it, so he reached out for it, but something held him back. It wasn’t usual for humans to get soul marks, and up until now, it was unheard of. Then again, werewolves with soul marks were generally meant to be with other werewolves.

Stiles cleared his throat awkwardly. “My dad’s waiting for me.”

Derek noticed that his hand was shaking, just an inch above Stiles’ skin. He moved his hand back but Stiles had already noticed and grabbed onto him. 

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked, worried. “Derek?”

Derek let out a shaky breath and stepped back.

“Derek?” Stiles asked again, still not letting go.

He shook his head, but Stiles touched Derek’s hand to his chest, just barely, but it was enough. The paw prints grew tiny little flames around them as they swirled together, tightening into one large paw resting on Stiles’ chest.

Stiles flinched back, shoving Derek’s hand away, but the mark stayed the same.

Derek looked back at Stiles, sure that Stiles’ startled and fearful expression was mirrored on his own face. Derek felt the need to run.

“Oh, my god.” Stiles chuckled, his face relaxing as he touched the mark with his long fingers. “It’s never done that before.”

Derek clenched his jaw.

“What is it?” Stiles asked, smiling up at Derek.

“You’re just a kid.” Derek furrowed his brow and shook his head.

“What?” Stiles asked, his smile falling. “Derek, what does it mean?”

“I came to tell you that I’m leaving with Cora for a while.” Derek said, ignoring Stiles’ question.

“What?” Stiles looked upset, on the verge of angry.

“I don’t know if I’ll ever come back.” Derek continued. “Maybe not. I only came back for Laura and… she’s not here anymore. I stuck around to help while I could but I’m powerless now. Scott’s got everything handled.”

“Derek,” Stiles shook his head. “What’s this thing on my chest?”

Derek shrugged, avoiding Stiles’ gaze.

“It wasn’t always on my chest.” Stiles scoffed, trying to get more information. “It was just a paw print for a while, then it was on fire, but when I was like, ten it became several… it- it just recently happened that they spread out on my chest. They freak me out, I can’t change in the locker rooms like a normal person!”

“I can’t help you, Stiles.” Derek told him. “Getting rid of them… even if it’s possible, it would hurt too much, and you might not be able to withstand it.”

“So there is a way to get rid of them?” Stiles asked, hopeful.

Derek’s chest felt constricted. Stiles wanted his soul mark gone, and even though he didn’t know what it was, he knew that getting rid of the mark was a rejection of him.

“Derek!” Stiles said, frustrated.

“Your dad’s coming up the stairs, you should put your shirt on.” Derek sighed. “Bye, Stiles.”

Derek ran out the window with his werewolf speed, leaving Stiles alone in his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked it! I'll update tomorrow night :) Thanks so much for the lovely comments!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, there are happy moments but this chapter is mostly a struggle for both of them. ENJOY!

“You’re just leaving me here?” Cora scoffed. “Why are you even going back to Beacon Hills? What’s left for you there?”

Derek sighed and crossed his arms. “Something important. Something that Laura wouldn’t have wanted me to just forget there.”

“Why didn’t you bring it with you before we left?” Cora asked, confused.

“Because it’s not an ‘it’, Cora, it’s a ‘he’.” Derek pressed his lips together, waiting for Cora’s reaction.

“What?” Cora asked, glaring at Derek as though he were being stupid.

“My soul mate.” Derek said awkwardly. “I found him. I was probably even more shocked than you are.”

“Your soul mate?” Cora looked entirely too confused.

“Yeah.” Derek explained, wondering if she could even remember that he was one of the rare few to actually have a soul mark. “I have a soul mark.”

Cora’s eyebrows raised. “But how do you know that it’s Stiles?”

“I’ve always known, but before we left-” Derek turned to her in confusion. “How do you know that it’s Stiles?”

“If it were any of those idiots, then it would have to be Stiles, wouldn’t it?” Cora shrugged. “Anyone can tell how much you like him, and he’s not exactly subtle either.”

Derek took a moment to actually look at his little sister. She may have been younger than him, but she was grown up. Peter was right about not really knowing each other after eleven years.

“Look, I understand if you have to go back.” Cora shrugged. “Do what you have to, but I don’t do the whole teenaged drama thing and honestly that’s really all we get in Beacon Hills aside from the people that want to kill us.”

Derek nodded in understanding.

“How’s your soul mark doing?” Cora asked curiously. “Can I see it?”

Derek smiled and took his shirt off, revealing the tree on his chest.

Derek hadn’t really looked over his mark since he had left Beacon Hills, but he indulged himself now. It was different now though, there was a lightning bolt that struck through it, down to the roots. The tree that had seemed unshakeable now swayed with the smallest breeze. 

“Something wrong, isn’t it?” Cora asked, looking at it. “What does the lightning mean?”

“I don’t know.” Derek replied honestly. “Stiles has a mark on his chest. I think it changes to paw prints when I’m not near him, but I know for sure that after the fire, his mark grew flames on it. Something must have happened to them. Something that’s shaken him considerably.”

Cora nodded in understanding. “You know where I am if you ever get him to leave with you.”

Derek smiled. “You know where I’ll be if you ever need anything.”

Cora gave him a classic Hale eye roll before walking away.

Derek finally understood why that annoyed Stiles so much. He didn’t say anything as he walked back to his car with Peter.

“She’s not coming with us, is she?” Peter asked, watching her run off.

“She doesn’t know what we’re doing.” Derek replied, getting into the car.

“That makes two of us.” Peter shook his head, but got in anyways.

~

Stiles had been having more and more nightmares. It had gotten to the point where he wasn’t sure if he had just dreamt of Derek saying goodbye, sharing a small, intimate moment in Stiles’ room.

He wasn’t the only one having trouble adapting. Allison was also having nightmares and Scott couldn’t control his abilities for a while. Thankfully, Scott got his abilities back under control and Allison’s nightmares stopped, at least for now. Stiles, however, he wasn’t feeling too sure that his would ever stop. Nothing felt real sometimes.

He was glad, however, that they had managed to help his dad solve the case of Malia Tate, and they had found a new friend in Kira Yukimura. When she was abducted by an escaped prisoner from Eichen House, Stiles was relieved that he and Scott were able to save her with Lydia’s help.

Sadly, Scott’s dad, Agent McCall, didn’t feel the same. Probably because saving her caused a power outage that affected the whole town… 

He was surprised to find a strange key on his key chain, but seeing Scott trying to approach Kira, he ran to stop him.

“You need to remember that someone left a coded message telling Barrow to kill her.” Stiles reminded him. 

Scott refused to listen.

“Until we figure out if she’s another psychotic monster that’s gonna start murdering everybody, I vote against any and all interaction.” Stiles told him.

“What if she’s like me?” Scott asked, watching her leave.

“That girl walked through 1.21 jigawatts of electricity. She’s not like you.” Stiles told him seriously.

Scott just walked away.

~

After being captured by the Calaveras and escaping them with Braeden’s help, Derek got what he wanted and returned to Beacon Hills with Peter.

He finished sewing Peter’s finger back on and started getting everything ready for the ritual he was going to need Peter’s help performing with Talia’s claws. He was a little surprised that Peter would want Talia’s claws after Derek finished with them, but to get Peter’s help, he agreed.

“Sentimental value.” Peter said. “She was your mother, she was also my sister.”

Derek had no use for the claws afterwards, but he didn’t trust Peter, not after everything.

Peter was taking his sweet time putting the claws on, so Derek got a small satisfaction, forcing Peter’s hand.

After a few moments of Peter writhing in pain, he calmed down and looked over the claws. 

“They’re not exactly my color.” He said, walking over to Derek. “This is going to be excruciatingly painful.”

“Just do it.” Derek said, waiting on a chair.

“Oh, I’m going to. I just wanted you to know… we all have our petty revenges.” Peter said, digging the claws into Derek’s neck.

Peter was right about the pain, but it fell away after a while. He couldn’t remember closing his eyes, but when he opened them, he was in the distillery where he and Scott had faced off Deucalion. In the middle of the room was the Nemeton. As he looked around, a black wolf with white circles around her eyes trotted in, stepping onto the Nemeton and looking directly at Derek.

It was his mother, Talia, in her wolf form. Her eyes glowed red upon seeing him and he felt the need to reach out, but he couldn’t. He needed to consult her on what to do and he wasn’t sure how much time he had to speak with her.

~

Stiles was more than a little bit shocked to find out that Derek was back in town. Apparently, he had been back for a while without telling anyone. Stiles had yet to actually see him, but Scott and the others had seen him crash the Halloween party that Aiden had told Danny that he could throw at the loft. Of course, shortly after, they had to deal with some mystical ninjas. 

He sighed at the mess that was Beacon Hills.

Stiles had his own problems, like finding out that he had been the one to leave the message for Barrow on the blackboard to kill Kira. He had absolutely no recollection of doing so, but when he checked to see if the key he had found on his keychain fit in the lock to the chemistry supply closet, it did.

He tried to tell Scott but someone had erased the blackboard and the key disappeared, so he knew that Scott didn’t really believe him. He tried to convince Scott by reminding him about the prank they pulled on Coach earlier, trying to get him to see the similarity between Stiles’ idea of a prank and how Barrow had made his bomb, but Scott didn’t want to believe him.

Stiles felt like he was losing his mind.

“Dude, are you okay?” Scott asked. “You’re looking really tired.”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just haven’t been sleeping really…” Stiles said, staring at the erased blackboard.

“Why don’t you go home? Take a sick day or something.” Scott suggested.

Stiles didn’t want to go home. He wanted to figure out what was going on, but if he told Scott, then Scott wouldn’t let him investigate so he kept quiet.

Instead of going home, Stiles went to the hospital to see his doctor, but he was on vacation.

“Stiles, are you alright?” Melissa asked, seeing Stiles’ expression.

“I don’t know.” Stiles said shakily, trying to keep it together. “I guess… I guess not really.”

“Alright, kiddo.” She nodded politely. “Alright, come with me. It’s okay.”

She let him to an empty patient room and asked him his symptoms.

“Blackouts, but not for that long.” Stiles started. “Sleepwalking, which I used to do a lot as a kid. Um, I’m also having some really bad anxiety.”

“Panic attacks?” Melissa asked, writing his symptoms down.

“Yeah, a couple.” Stiles nodded. “Oh, and I temporarily lost the ability to read, but that might have more to do with this giant magic tree and a whole human sacrifice thing.”

“I recall something vaguely about that, yes.” Melissa smiled. “How many hours of sleep are you getting?”

“Eight.” Stiles answered, looking at what she was writing.

“A night?” She asked.

“The last three days.” Stiles replied, counting on his hands. “Yeah, definitely eight.”

She looked at him with concern. “Been feeling irritable?”

“Yeah, possibly to the point of homicide.” Stiles answered, thinking back to what happened with Barrow.

“Inability to focus?” She asked, remaining calm.

“Yeah, the Adderall’s not working.” Stiles informed her.

“Impulsive behavior?” Melissa continued. 

“More than my usual? Hard to tell.” Stiles swallowed hard.

“Vivid dreams during the day?” Melissa asked, her voice becoming more professional as she avoided looking at him.

“Okay, basically all of the above.” Stiles told her. “Do you know what this is?”

“I think so.” Melissa nodded, holding a syringe as she walked towards him.

“Uh, what’s that?” Stiles asked.

“Do you trust me?” She asked.

“When you’re not holding a needle.” Stiles shrugged.

Melissa chuckled and proceeded to inject him. “It’s Midazolam. A sedative.”

“Why did you give me a sedative?” Stiles asked, his paranoia kicking in. 

“Because you, Stiles are one profoundly sleep-deprived young man.” Melissa informed him as she lowered him on the bed. “You need rest and you need it now. Lie down.”

“Okay, how long’s it take to…” Stiles was cut off by a hazy feeling, pulling him to sleep. “Oh, not long at all.”

Stiles laid down on the bed, losing consciousness.

“Get some rest.” A woman’s voice said somewhere above him.

“Thanks, mom.” Stiles managed, just before passing out.

~

After fighting off ninjas in his loft, Derek decided to follow Scott around the next day. It started out weird, and Stiles was obviously having problems no one had time for, but the rest of the day was rather uneventful. As soon as night fell, however, the same ninjas, or Oni, from before surrounded the McCall house and Derek had to reveal his position.

He did find out that the girl that Scott was currently seeing was a Kitsune, and a young one. Ethan and Aiden were trying to join Scott’s pack now that they were Omegas, but Derek knew that they only wanted the strength that a pack could bring them. They couldn’t really be part of a pack that dedicated itself to helping people. They weren’t built for it.

Once they let the Oni in to test Scott and Kira and they were both cleared, the Oni left. Derek had no reason to stick around. Derek went home. He figured that he could check on Stiles tomorrow, he didn’t really want to confront him just yet, not after the way he had left things.

Later that night, however, Derek got a desperate call from Scott telling him that Stiles had gone missing. A surge of panic ran through Derek and he changed as fast as he could. Derek tracked Stiles’ Jeep to the hospital and did a quick sweep of it, following the familiar chemo-signals up to the roof.

“He’s not here.” Derek told Scott and Isaac as they ran up to meet him. “Not anymore.”

“You mean the whole building?” Scott asked.

“Gone.” Derek said, still training his senses to find Stiles, desperately pushing down his own fears of what had happened.

“I’ll go tell Stilinski.” Isaac said, heading back down the stairs.

“And see if you can find Allison, she’s not answering her phone.” Scott told him.

Derek knew that Isaac could smell his own panic beneath the strong chemo-signals that Stiles had left. Isaac had lived with him for a while.

Scott walked up to him, and for a moment, Derek worried that he was giving too much away if Scott could catch on enough to comfort him. He didn’t though, too distracted by his own worry.

“Notice how strong the scent is up here?” Derek asked. He may as well teach Scott a thing or two. “Ever hear of chemo signals? Chemical signals that communicate emotion. Just our sweat can give off anger, fear, or disgust. Take a deep breath, tell me what you feel.”

Scott closed his eyes and did as he was told. “Stress.”

“And anxiety.” Derek added.

“What was he doing here?” Scott asked.

“I don’t know, but there was definitely some kind of struggle.” Derek informed him, trying not to sound concerned. 

“With who?” Scott asked, confused.

Derek swallowed hard, his fear baiting him again. “Himself.”

Scott turned to him with wide eyes.

“I’m gonna head to the high school and see if he’s there.” Derek said, clearing his throat and walking away. 

“Derek, wait.” Scott said.

Derek turned around, only to notice that Scott look terrified.

“We’re gonna find him.” Derek promised, walking away without another word.

A few hours later, just as Derek was close to losing his head and running around in full werewolf form to search for Stiles, Scott sent him a text telling him that he had been found in Malia’s old coyote den.

Derek considered visiting Stiles, but as he was heading up to see him, he remembered how they had left things. He went down to jumpstart the Jeep instead, meeting up with Aiden for help.

“So you think he was just sleepwalking, or is there something more to it?” Aiden asked.

“In this town, there’s always something more.” Derek said, acting casual and focusing on his task.

“What if I told you I know something more?” Aiden asked.

Derek raised his eyebrows curiously.

“I king of overheard…” Aiden smirked. “Well, I listened in on Stiles talking to Scott, how he thinks that he was the one that wrote that message in the Chemistry room.”

Derek furrowed his brow.

“The message telling Barrow to kill Kira.” Aiden added. 

“You think Stiles, skinny, defenseless, Stiles is the Nogitsune? A powerful dark spirit?” Derek asked as though the whole with were absurd.

“I’m not the only one thinking it, I’m just the only one saying it.” Aiden said seriously.

“This thing wants to possess someone and it chooses Stiles?” Derek asked skeptically, although he knew that he just didn’t want to believe. “Why not take someone bigger, stronger? Someone with a little more… power.”

Stiles had been trying to warn them, but they didn’t listen. A thought occurred to Derek as he touched the jumper cables together, creating a spark of electricity.

The next day, Derek went to visit the high school to talk to Kira. He watched as she called for Scott and he accidentally ignored her.

“He’s a little preoccupied, but I can help you.” Derek said, approaching her. 

“Why would you want to help me?” Kira asked with wide eyes. 

“Because I want you to tell me everything that happened at the power station with William Barrow.” Derek said. “Actually, I want you to show me.”

Kira took a deep breath, but she didn’t take much convincing to ditch class and take him to the power station.

When they got there, she told him how it happened, how she had been electrocuted. But he was more interested in whether or not Stiles may have gotten any of the shock. 

“It happened around here, I think.” Kira said, walking around. “But everything kinda looks the same now.” 

Derek noticed a scrape on the floor and followed it to a voltage box.

“What is that?” Kira asked, seeing an aluminum baseball bat stuck to it. “Is that a baseball bat?”

“It’s Stiles’ bat.” Derek informed her, moving to remove it from the box, but it was magnetically attached, making it difficult to remove. 

With a bit of force, he managed to pull it free and he stepped back. 

“It’s magnetized.” He told her.

She lifted her eyebrows in confusion.

Derek placed the bottom of the bat where the scrape marks started, feeling the box pull the aluminum towards it again. It stuck back to the box, and Derek turned around.

“Kira, you need to tell me everything you know about fox fire.” Derek told her very seriously, showing her a danger sign behind her.

It read “DANGER: HIGH VOLTAGE” and had a drawing of someone being electrocuted on it.

Derek was concerned that maybe that had been what happened to Stiles, that Kira’s fox fire had triggered the Nogitsune in Stiles.

~

Stiles was waiting to be checked by the MRI machine as his dad struggled with the doctor about his name. Common problem. 

He couldn’t say that he wasn’t worried, what with all of the test that he was going through. His dad kept eerily quiet about the whole thing, and Stiles felt eight years old again, not being told what was going on despite the gloomy attitudes of everyone around him. This time though, he knew exactly what was going on, but he was the one that was sick.

The doctor told him the usual routine speech about it being loud in the MRI machine and offered him headphones or earplugs, but Stiles didn’t care for any of that, he just wanted to get it over with.

He looked at Scott, who was looking down.

“You know what they’re looking for, right?” Stiles asked, but Scott still didn’t look at him. “It’s called frontotemporal dementia.”

Scott finally turned to look at him, but his lips were pressed together.

“Areas of your brain start to shrink.” Stiles explained. “It’s what my mother had. It’s the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers. And there’s no cure.”

A tear fell down Scott’s face before he wiped it away. “Stiles, if you have it, we’ll do something. I’ll do something.”

Stiles knew that Scott meant it, but he also knew that there was nothing to do. Even if there was, he wasn’t so sure that he would want it done. He didn’t know if he could live with himself knowing that there could have been a way to save his mom but he was the one saved instead. He felt lost and scared, so he did the only thing he could and threw his arms around his best friend, willing himself not to cry.

Scott held him tightly, almost too tight, but Stiles didn’t care. He felt so vulnerable that it didn’t matter.

“Can I get you anything?” Scott asked, pulling away after a while.

“No, I don’t…” Stiles swallowed hard. “Actually, do you- do you know where Derek is?”

Scott looked at him curiously but shook his head.

“That’s okay.” Stiles assured him. 

Scott focused his hearing for a moment. “I think I heard his car pull up.”

Stiles figured that he was just saying that, but he gave him a small smile anyways. “Thanks, buddy.”

The doctor’s voice cut in, telling Scott that they had to start now, so Scott turned to Stiles for just a moment longer.

“I’ll be waiting for you right outside, okay?” Scott told him. “I’ll be here when you’re done.”

Stiles nodded and lied down on the machine. The machine whirred and pulled him inside.

“Okay, this is going to take about 45 minutes to an hour.” The doctor said through an intercom in the machine as Stiles moved to make himself comfortable. “Now remember, try not to move.”

Stiles moved his neck slightly to adjust his position.

“Even just a little bit.” The doctor said.

Stiles really wanted to move his head, but he couldn’t.

~

Kira decided to wait outside of the hospital while Derek went inside to tell Scott what he had found out.

Scott looked up when Derek walked in. “I thought I heard your car. Stiles asked for you.”

Derek was confused, but Scott just looked down.

He sat across from Scott, feeling a little bit worried about Stiles, but he pushed down his emotions to tell Scott what he had found out.

Scott didn’t seem to be too shocked by the news, instead accepting it as another fact and moving on.

“You know the stuff you were telling me about chemo signals earlier?” Scott asked, breaking the silence. “It reminded me of the time that you were teaching me to use anger to control the shift.”

“I think you ended up teaching me more about that.” Derek smiled.

He hadn’t really thought about it much before, but the same way that Scott used Allison as an anchor, was the way that he used Stiles as his.

“Are you teaching me again?” Scott asked.

“Think of it more like sharing a few trade secrets.” Derek replied. “You know I took Cora back to South America, right? It’s where she spent most of her time after the fire, but that’s not the only reason I left.”

Scott looked at him curiously.

Derek wasn’t ready to tell anyone about his soul mark, but he could tell half of the truth. “I needed to talk to my mother.”

“Your dead mother?” Scott asked.

“She told me something that changed my perspective on a lot of things.” Derek continued. “She said that my family didn’t just live in Beacon Hills. They protected it. This town needs someone to protect it, someone like you.”

“And someone like you to teach me a few trade secrets.” Scott told him.

Derek smiled. He had to stick around now, because there was no way that he was going to give up his mate. Of course, his mate would be someone that felt a strong connection to Beacon Hills, someone to protect it. Stiles was someone that his family would have welcomed with open arms, someone that Derek could allow himself to care about. Now though, Stiles was in trouble and there wasn’t much for Derek to do.

Scott stood up abruptly. “He was trying to protect us. Stiles was protecting us.”

“From himself.” Derek added, the pieces falling into place.

They ran up to the roof and discovered a few tools in a bag. A few moments later, a cable ripped, causing another power outage and wreaking havoc on the people near the entrance as it bounced around threateningly.

Kira was surprisingly able to stopped the cable, but not before water spilled and Isaac got electrocuted. Stiles went missing again, and Derek was starting to get extremely worried.

He couldn’t rest knowing that Stiles was out there, out of control of his body and thinking that he was out of his mind. Not having slept the night before, he was awake for over 76 hours before Stiles was found. 

Things got progressively worse over the next few weeks, and Stiles’ being possessed by the Nogitsune was confirmed. The Nogitsune started wreaking havoc, harming people, even killing them. Blowing up the sheriff’s station and sending an arrow into Coach. The biggest problem for Chris Argent wanted to kill Stiles if it meant killing the Nogitsune, which Derek found completely unacceptable. Despite that fact, Derek saved Chris’ life which ended with him getting a back full of glass and shrapnel from the blast at the sheriff’s station.

Of course, he couldn’t just tell them all that. Instead, he extended all of his efforts to doing everything in his power to finding a way to keep Stiles alive.

The Nogitsune was making it difficult though, and Chris Argent didn’t see an alternative. Derek tried to keep his head on straight, knowing that the Nogitsune would take advantage of and abuse any signs of weakness, but Stiles was in danger and Derek felt powerless to help him. 

Deaton managed to procure an herb called “Letharia Vulpina” to poison the Nogitsune in Stiles. Even though Derek knew that Stiles was his soul mate by now, he was still frozen in place when he heard news that Stiles had the Lichtenberg figure on his neck, commonly found on lightning strike victims. Derek had just left the police station with Chris and he couldn’t afford the distraction, not with Argent so intent on putting Stiles down. 

They went to Argent’s house with Allison and the sheriff, focusing on non-lethal weapons. They tried to consider the possibilities of where Stiles could be. 

“Hold on, we did this already.” Derek interrupted. “He disappeared; we started looking for him, then walked right into a trap at the hospital.”

“He’s getting us to repeat the same moves.” Chris nodded.

“So what do we do? Wait for him to come to us?” Allison asked. 

“We can’t.” Derek shook his head. “Not if the Oni find him when the sun goes down.”

“Scott’s working on them right now, with Kira.” The sheriff informed them.

“That’s the problem: we’re all trying to outfox the fox.” Chris said. 

Derek let his head drop, ignoring the look that the sheriff gave him.

“Listen, I’ll understand if anyone wants to back out.” The sheriff looked at Chris with a raised eyebrow.

The thought hadn’t even occurred to Derek. He couldn’t let Stiles deal with this on his own and he certainly wasn’t going to let anyone harm the town that his mother told him to protect.

“I’m not gonna be the first wolf to run from a fox.” Derek stood straight, and they all agreed to continue.

Allison went to the hospital with the sheriff, while Derek was left to partner up with Chris again. He turned around in time to see Argent picking up a few of his guns.

“Making sure you have a few lethal options just in case?” Derek asked, barely containing his anger and worry for Stiles.

“I like to prepare for the worst.” Chris said, pushing in the clip.

Derek clenched his fist and stormed out, knowing that there was no way he would be able to convince Argent to leave the guns. He just hoped that either the sheriff or himself would be the ones to find Stiles, because the Argents wouldn’t care if it was Stiles or not. They’d put him down. 

~

As it turned out, Stiles wanted to be found. He broke into his own room and they followed. When they got there, the chessboard was set up with sticky notes on the pieces.

“What is all this?” Chris asked. “What are these sticky notes for?”

“This is what Stiles used to try and explain to me about all of… you.” The sheriff replied.

Derek briefly looked up at him.

“Well, maybe it’s a message from Stiles. The real Stiles.” Allison suggested.

Chris looked at a pawn with Isaac’s name on it having been taken off the board, but Derek could only focus on one thing. He resisted the urge to feel over his soul mark.

“Do you think there’s any reason why my name is on the king?” Derek asked.

“Well, you’re heavily guarded.” The sheriff answered. “Though I guess the alarming detail is that you’re one move from being in checkmate.”

Derek looked up at the sheriff again, surprised as the sheriff was worried.

“It’s not a message from Stiles.” Chris said bitterly. “It’s a threat from the Nogitsune.”

“He’s at the loft.” Allison looked up. “That’s what he’s trying to tell us.”

“And he wants us to come there.” Chris nodded to the sheriff.

“Night’s falling.” Derek told them so they would hurry up with their decision. 

“This couldn’t sound any more like a trap.” Chris told the sheriff firmly.

“I don’t think it is.” He shook his head. 

“I think your opinion might be slightly biased, sheriff.” 

“Hear me out.” The sheriff said desperately. “What we’re dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, right?”

“Meaning what?” Chris asked, although it was obvious that he wasn’t actually listening.

“Our enemy is not a killer.” The sheriff informed him. “It’s a trickster. The killing is just a by-product.”

“If you’re trying to say it won’t kill us, I’m not feeling too confident about that.” Derek had to cut in. They kept wasting time.

“It won’t, it wants irony.” The sheriff told him. “It wants to play a trick; it wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punch line.”

“The sun is setting, sheriff.” Chris said, actually listening now. “What do you have in mind?”

The sheriff told them his plan and Derek was feeling on-edge about the whole thing. He didn’t think that he was being obvious about it, the worrying and searching, but Allison gave him a knowing look that he tried to ignore.

The sheriff was the first to walk in to see Stiles, but as soon as they got confirmation that it wasn’t really Stiles, they all entered. 

Allison tried to taze him, but he just caught the cord and absorbed the electricity, pulling it out of her hands. Derek growled, hating that the Nogitsune had chosen Stiles and lunged at him. Stiles simply caught his arm and twisted before slamming Derek’s face into a table and sending him flying across the room, cracking his back against one of the pillars. 

Derek coughed and healed, hearing a gun click.

Stiles turned around to face down the barrel of Chris Argent’s gun. Derek looked up, his heart racing.

“Argent, listen to me: don’t do this.” The sheriff told him.

“Why not? I’ve done it before.” Chris said, his gun unwavering. “Werewolves, berserkers; I can easily add a Nogitsune to the list.”

It was all part of the act, but actually seeing the gun trained on Stiles, seeing Argent ready to shoot made Derek more worried than before. He almost wished they were still looking for Stiles instead.

The sheriff trained his gun on Argent, playing things out as planned. “You’re not gonna shoot my son.”

The Nogitsune was amused, which meant the plan was working.

“You said it yourself, sheriff.” Chris said. “That’s not your son.”

The Nogitsune held back a smirk.

“Put it down.” The sheriff said, but Argent didn’t back down. “Put it down!”

“Dad, he’s gonna shoot me.” Stiles said, looking nervously at the sheriff. “He’s gonna kill me, dad.”

“Don’t listen.” Chris said, seeing the sheriff’s hesitance.

“Put it down, now! Do it!” The sheriff said, his voice getting louder. “Put it down!”

“Pull the trigger, come on.” Stiles said, looking at Chris with mischief.

“Listen to me, you put the gun down now!” The sheriff yelled. 

“Shoot me.” Stiles said, daring him to.

“Dad.” Allison said, obviously noticing something in her father’s eyes had changed.

“Shoot me.” Stiles said louder.

“Put the gun down now!” The sheriff screamed.

“SHOOT ME!” Stiles yelled louder.

“Argent, you put it down!” The sheriff yelled.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go. Derek felt the need to intervene now that he saw the look on Argent’s face.

“Strife.” Allison said softly, underneath the screams from the sheriff.

Derek noticed the sun going down. They were out of time.

“Stop it, stop it now. This is exactly what he wants.” Allison said, interrupting the two men.

“Not exactly.” Stiles gave her a look. “I was kinda hoping Scott would be here. But I’m glad you all have your guns out, because you’re not here to kill me. You’re here to protect me.”

Stiles walked behind the sheriff, perfectly spaced himself from the Oni that had just appeared with the four of them in between. Chris tried to fire his gun, but nothing came out and Derek sighed in relief, knowing that Stiles was never in any real harm from him.

Two Oni appeared behind Stiles and Derek moved with Allison to cover him. They fought hard and Derek managed to get away with only one cut on his shoulder. They didn’t defeat the Oni, however, they simply vanished; and so did Stiles.

~

Derek asked the sheriff if he could borrow the chess set after everyone left. The sheriff told him that it was fine and Derek took the game back to the loft.

“What are you doing?” Peter asked, walking up to see Derek setting up the pieces. “And more importantly, why aren’t you healing?”

“It’s from one of their swords. It’ll heal.” Derek said, frustrated.

“By playing chess?” Peter asked curiously.

“Back in his room, Stiles had a board with my name on one of the pieces.” Derek said, avoiding Peter’s questioning gaze. “If this is a game to him, then I need to figure out the plays.”

“That’s not so easy to do when it’s a game without rules.” Peter told him.

Derek finally looked up at him, confused. “What does that mean?”

Peter took a deep breath. 

“You’re dealing with the kind of spirit that’s lived too long to play by human rules.” Peter informed him. “It’s a fox spirit that chose to become human and supposedly, that’s something they can do only after about 100 years. If a kitsune is an annoying pain in the ass, then a Nogitsune, which is a dark kitsune, is a freaking disaster.”

Derek looked up to notice a hint of pity disappear from Peter’s eye and change back into superiority.

“Besides, chess is Stiles’ game, not the game of a Japanese fox.” Peter shrugged his coat on. “Do yourself a favor and put something on that, before it gets infected.”

For some reason, after Peter left, all Derek could think about was how ready Chris Argent had been to shoot Stiles in the face. Stiles was Derek’s seventeen year old soul mate and Argent would have killed him without any remorse.

Derek tried to think of something else, but the more he tried to think of how Argent had tried to help, the more he couldn’t help thinking of all the harm he had caused to everyone that Derek had ever cared about.

The next morning, he found himself in front of Argent’s door, unsure of how he got there, when Chris opened the door.

“I need to show you something.” Derek said, walking past him.

Derek dumped his mother’s claws on Chris’ desk. 

“Do you know who these belonged to?” Derek asked.

Chris shrugged.

“These claws are all that was left of my mother after your psychotic sister burned her and the rest of my family alive.” Derek said, feeling unusually enraged as he looked up to see the shaken expression on Argent’s face.

After a scuffle, Derek managed to overpower Chris and tie him to a chair. Derek had just retrieved some lighter fluid from his duffel when Chris woke up.

“Derek.” Chris said as Derek poured the lighter fluid on him. “Okay, listen. Listen to me. Whatever’s gotten in your head, this isn’t the way to deal with it.”

“You burn my family, I burn yours.” Derek replied. “In fact, I’ll burn the whole building down around you.

Chris jerked forward and Derek caught his cheeks, squeezing hard between his fingers. 

“That was Kate. You know I had nothing to do with that.” Chris said once Derek let go. “I’m not your enemy Derek, not anymore.”

Derek flipped open a lighter. “Yeah, you are. You and Allison. Which is why, I’m not gonna light this yet. I’m not.”

Derek closed the lighter and Chris glared at him.

“I’m gonna wait till she gets home and we’re gonna let her watch.” Derek smiled as Chris tried to break free from his restraints.

“Do you want to know why you’re still my enemy?” Derek asked, sitting back.

Chris struggled as he glared at him.

“You were just- sorry, you _are_ willing to just kill Stiles.” Derek sighed. “Just like that. He’s seventeen years old!”

Chris paused and looked at Derek in confusion. “I thought you two didn’t get along.”

“He’s just a kid, Argent.” Derek scoffed. “You’re willing to kill a kid.”

“I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that this town, my daughter and the rest of those kids, are safe.” Chris ground out. “If that means that I have to put down something as evil and twisted as the Nogitsune possessing Stiles, then that’s just one casualty.”

“He’s not just a casualty!” Derek yelled, his face hovering in front of Chris’. “He’s their friend. He’s my friend and the only thing I have left.”

“You have the rest of the pack, Derek.” Chris shook his head. “Werewolves, like you.”

Derek growled and his hand instinctively reached to his soul mark. 

“I didn’t know that Stiles was so important to you.” Chris said calmly. “I should have figured it out since you were out looking probably longer than I was, but I thought that was for Scott.”

Derek felt confused as he felt over his soul mark. 

“Why shouldn’t I kill you? How many of us have you murdered?” Derek asked, confusion seeping in as he felt his soul mark move. “You’re not my ally. You’re not my ally. You’re a hunter.”

“You’re right, I am a hunter.” Chris said, his voice only adding to Derek’s confusion. “Trained before I could even speak and trained others. Do you know what the first lesson we teach is? We take our children, we bind them in a chair just like this, then we wait for them to get out. Most of them, it takes hours. Others? Seconds.”

Chris let his chair fall back, freeing him from his binds and all of Derek’s confused thoughts came to a halt as he growled fiercely. Argents had killed his family and an Argent was trying to murder is soul mate.

Derek jumped over the desk and Chris quickly managed to get a gun under his chin.

“I don’t wanna kill you, Derek. Don’t make me kill you. Please.” Chris said, his eyes boring into Derek’s. 

Derek wanted to back down, but his body wouldn’t follow. Instead, he felt blood trickle from his nose and he succumbed to a darkness washing over him.

Chris let him leave as soon as he woke up, and they realized that the Nogitsune was stronger than ever. Derek had to find Stiles, or at least anyone who knew what might be going on with Stiles.

Peter was at the loft when Derek got there.

“What the news on the Nogitsune?” Derek asked.

“Gone.” Peter replied. “He took Lydia.”

Derek could help but wonder if maybe pieces of Stiles were showing through the Nogitsune and that’s why he used the chessboard and Derek’s loft. Stiles was still in there, fighting him.

“Stiles is at home.” Peter interrupted his thoughts. “At least I think he is. I think Scott was going to drop him off at the police station to be with his dad.”

Derek looked at him in confusion.

“Stiles managed to separate himself from the Nogitsune.” Peter informed him. “He didn’t do it alone, Scott and Lydia helped, but Stiles wouldn’t have been able to do it if he weren’t strong.”

A thought occurred to Derek. “When did he break free?”

“About an hour ago, why?” Peter furrowed his eyebrows.

“He broke the Nogitsune’s hold on me.” Derek said.

“And Isaac and the twins, can’t forget.” Peter smirked.

“What?” Derek was thoroughly confused.

“Isaac tried to kill the twins but Kira and Allison stopped them from killing him. They all snapped out of it when Stiles magically separated himself from the Nogitsune.” Peter informed him.

“How do you know that it wasn’t part of the Nogitsune’s plan?” Derek asked.

“The others think it is, but I know Stiles.” Peter shook his head. “And I know what I saw. The look on the Nogitsune’s face when he was spitting Stiles out was pure shock. He wasn’t expecting it.”

“Did you tell the others?” Derek asked.

“Of course not, and neither should you.” Peter scoffed. “Stiles doesn’t even know what he’s capable of, let alone the rest of those idiots. If they knew that something had gone wrong in the Nogitsune’s plan, they’d think that they have an advantage that they don’t have. Stiles needs to recover, but I guarantee that he’ll be the one to figure this all out.”

“What makes you so sure?” Derek felt like Peter wasn’t telling him something.

“He always does.” Peter shrugged. “He stable and dependable like that… like a tree.”

Derek’s eyes widened and Peter smirked. 

“You’ve read The Giving Tree, haven’t you?” Peter asked, picking up his coat. “Don’t push Stiles, and don’t let the others push him either. It would be a tragedy to lose him.”

Derek was at a loss for words as Peter walked out, obviously knowing about Derek’s soul mark.

~

Peter came back a few hours later with more news. 

“Stiles told Scott and the sheriff to find someone named Meredith. He thinks she might be able to help find Lydia.” Peter said smugly.

“And I’m sitting around here talking to you.” Derek huffed.

“Let me see it.” Peter said, his smirk gone.

Derek clenched his fist.

“You know that it will tell us how Stiles is doing, right?” Peter asked, glaring down at Derek.

Derek clenched his jaw but took his shirt off anyways.

The mark was moving uneasily, and the lightning down the middle had deepened the crack, right down to the roots. It looked sickly.

“It’s dying.” Peter said under his breath, wincing. 

“No, he’s not.” Derek growled.

“Derek.” Peter stood straighter and gave him a look.

“He doesn’t even know, Peter.” Derek sighed. “I should’ve told him before I left.”

“We all make mistakes.” Peter shrugged. “You can still tell him.”

“Why?” Derek asked. “He’s in love with Lydia, and there’s no point in being rejected by my soul mate before he dies.”

Something constricted in Derek’s chest at the thought. It must have shown because Peter didn’t push the subject.

“Do you want to know how Stiles is really doing?” Peter asked instead.

Derek nodded once.

Peter took a deep breath. “Place your palm on the mark.”

Derek did, feeling how it swayed too easily.

“Focus on him.” Peter told him. “Really focus. I don’t just mean let your mind wander on memories, I mean really focus on who he is.”

Derek did his best, thinking over the meaning of the tree and how it represented Stiles.

Suddenly, he was overtaken by a startling chill, freezing him all over as an ache took over his body, forcing him to tremble.

“That can’t be good.” Peter shook his head.

Derek looked up to realize that he had collapsed to the floor and he was shaking. “What is this?”

“You’re feeling what he’s feeling.” Peter informed him. “Physically, at least. You can’t actually feel his emotions until you’ve accepted each other.”

“How did you know?” Derek asked, hands still unsteady from the cold and pain.

“I know a little about a lot of things.” Peter shrugged. “And remember, I used to have a soul mate too.”

“Why did you reject them?” Derek asked, warmth coming back to him.

“I don’t like being told what to do.” Peter shrugged. “Besides, it was mutual.”

“You know who it was?” Derek asked again.

“No, but whoever she was, she already had someone.” Peter smirked. “You can’t actually get rid of a soul mark on one person, it has to be both and mutual. It’s a messy process, but if you’re dedicated to never really wanting to find that person, it’s an easy decision.”

“I’ve been thinking about it.” Derek admitted.

Peter snickered. “It’s an easy decision because it’s always made before you meet them. You know who it is now, Derek. You can’t get rid of it, you can only change it.”

“Change it?” Derek asked.

Peter shrugged. “Stiles is going through a lot of changes right now, so if you plan on doing so, then you should do it now. But I’ll warn you that in the state he’s in, it could kill him.”

Derek pursed his lips. He hated that Peter wasn’t saying what he really meant, but he didn’t have the time to ask him about it. First, he had to make sure that the Nogitsune didn’t kill Stiles.

~

Stiles used the rest of his energy to find a way to stop the Nogitsune. He blamed himself for being too weak to fight the demon in the first place. He was the only one weak enough for the Nogitsune to possess, and the weight of that made Stiles reconsider his usefulness again.

Scott wasn’t the same after Allison was killed, and Stiles knew that he was the one to blame. Scott wouldn’t really hate him, would even try to say that it wasn’t Stiles’ fault, but he knew the truth. Stiles was the weakest one, and his weakness had gotten Scott’s first love killed.

Everyone had been so worried about what hurting the Nogitsune would do to Stiles, but Stiles just wanted it dead. He could remember everything that he had done and all of the people that he had hurt. He was already dying anyways, but he intended on taking the Nogitsune with him.

It all took its head at the school. Stiles felt like he should’ve been surprised, but so many things had already taken place at the high school that it was just one more thing on the long list. Scott didn’t want to kill the Nogitsune if it meant killing Stiles, but Stiles would do everything in his power to make sure that the Nogitsune either died or was captured. He wouldn’t let anyone else die for him. So when they walked into the school and everything was different as though they had been transported, Stiles started thinking.

As they looked around, the Nogitsune appeared as the mummified corpse of Noshiko’s dead lover. 

“As I promised, Stiles.” He roared. “We’re going to kill all of them. One by one.”

Two Oni appeared and Stiles moved back along with Scott, Kira, and Lydia.

“You’re dying, Stiles.” The Nogitsune told him. “And now everyone you care about is dying, too.”

“What? What do you mean?” Stiles asked, confused.

“I’ve captured almost all of the territories on the board, Stiles.” The Nogitsune replied. “The hospital, the sheriff’s station, and now the animal clinic. Do you know the ritual of seppuku, Stiles?”

“No, and I don’t want to.” Stiles answered, holding on to Lydia for support. He felt too weak.

“When a samuri disembowels himself with his own sword to maintain his honor, but that’s not the cut that kills him.” The Nogitsune continued. “The killing stroke is made by his kaishakunin, who beheads the samuri with his own katana. Scott… Scott is your kaishakunin. I’m going to make your best friend kill you, Stiles, and you’re going to let him. Because just like you, they’re all going to die, everyone touched by an Oni’s blade. Unless, Scott kills you first.”

“Why? Why are you doing this?” Stiles asked, trying his best to bravely face down the Nogitsune.

“To win the game.” The Nogitsune said as the Oni got into fighting positions.

They started fighting hard, Kira and Scott doing their best to keep Stiles and Lydia safe.

~

Derek walked up to the school steps in his werewolf form, holding on to the triskele box they were going to use to capture the Nogitsune.

“Did you bring us a present?” The Nogitsune said, wearing Stiles’ face.

Derek set down the triskele box, readying himself for the oncoming fight as the twins walked up behind him.

“I brought two.” Derek said, shining his blue eyes.

“I’ve heard of an Alpha pack, Derek, but not a pack of former Alphas.” The Nogitsune mocked. “It’s a little sad, isn’t it?”

“I might not be an Alpha anymore, but I can still fight like one.” Derek growled.

The Nogitsune only smiled as Derek and the twins charged toward him and sent the Oni to fight them.

As Derek fought off one of the Oni, the Nogitsune’s voice cut in, sending the Oni to the twins.

“You know, Derek, I know all about the little marks on you and Stiles.” The Nogitsune smirked. “It’s one of the reasons why I chose him.”

Derek growled and ran for the Nogitsune, but an Oni stopped him.

“Stiles doesn’t know what it is, but as soon as I was in his mind, as soon as I felt the bond on his chest, I knew that he was one of the most powerful pieces on the board.” The Nogitsune continued. “He doesn’t even know it. When I was setting up the chess board in his room, he placed himself on a pawn, but that’s not right, is it? Because although he’d be the first one to put himself in danger, he has more value than that.”

Derek swiped a claw at an Oni’s head.

“He’s a true Alpha’s best friend, his soul mate is a werewolf, he’s had… relations with a werecoyote, and is obsessed with a Banshee.” The Nogitsune snickered. “But instead of knowing how special he is to be a boy running with wolves, he only sees himself as the only one in the group who’s not special. That character flaw is what made it easy for me to possess him.”

Derek growled and kicked back the Oni as far as he could, but it didn’t matter. The Oni continued to attack.

“Did you know, that there’s a protection around soul mates?” The Nogitsune asked. “They are protected from most possession because they’re own strength is combined with that of their soul mate. You weren’t strong enough to protect your mate.”

The sting of the words tightened something in Derek’s chest and he fell back with the force of an Oni’s punch.

“Stiles would have been impossible to possess if you hadn’t left.” The Nogitsune informed him. “You leaving him left him confused, and the hurt of being abandoned left him scrambling for a reason. Your fear and weakness is what allowed me to possess the ideal person. He’s well loved and cared for, which means they want to save him, and he’s also incredibly smart and strong. Being able to weaken his mind and body only makes it more difficult for you to stop me.”

“It couldn’t have been easy.” Derek said, flipping over an Oni. “Being in his head, having him fight you; being able to force you out of his mind.”

The Nogitsune smirked.

“He’s stronger than you.” Derek told him. “I know that.”

The Nogitsune stood up from his comfortable position. 

“Where the hell are they?” Aiden growled.

“The Jeep’s out front, they have to be somewhere!” Ethan said, pushing off an Oni.

“The school!” Derek yelled, seeing the Nogitsune’s position.

The Oni fought harder and Derek started getting tired.

“You have to get on the box. Someone get on the box!” Derek yelled, having difficulty fighting off an Oni.

Aiden turned around to the box as two Oni appeared.

“I hate ninjas.” Aiden growled.

After fighting for a few minutes, Ethan and Aiden decided that they were losing.

“We can’t do this, we can’t beat them.” Aiden said.

“Take the box, we’ll hold them off.” Ethan said, holding onto his hurt arm.

Derek managed to stop an Oni from attacking Ethan, but another was already ready to strike. 

Before a blow could land, however, an arrow shot into the Oni’s chest and it died.

Derek turned around to see Chris Argent and Isaac.

“What was that?” Aiden asked.

“Silver.” Chris replied.

The Nogitsune ran inside of the school.

“Isaac, the box!” Derek said, not wanting to waste any more time. “Get the triskele box to Scott!”

Isaac grabbed the box and ran inside.

~

“This can’t be real.” Lydia said, holding onto Stiles.

“Yeah, tell that to them.” Stiles replied, seeing Scott and Kira struggling against the Oni.

Kira’s sword was knocked out of her hand and Stiles picked it up, ready to disembowel himself.

“Stiles, no!” Scott yelled, pushing an Oni off of him. “Stiles.”

“What if it saves you? What if it saves all of you?” Stiles asked, his voice shaking. 

“What if it’s just another trick?” Lydia asked.

“No more tricks, Lydia.” The Nogitsune said. “End it, Scott. Let your friend fall on his own sword. Do for him what he cannot do for himself. Do it, Scott. Be his kaishakunin.”

Stiles was ready to do it, but something caught his attention in the reflection of the katana. He looked around and noticed a textbook on the floor, and a desk in the corner.

“You have no moves left.” The Nogitsune told him. 

Stiles paused to think and remember what Kira’s mother Noshiko told him before.

_“What you need is a Divine move in order to turn the game around.”_

_“A Divine move is a truly inspired or out-of-the-box move.”_

“I do.” Stiles said, putting the katana down and tossing it to Kira. “A Divine Move.”

The Nogitsune snarled at him.

“Stop fighting them.” Stiles said, holding on to Lydia. “It’s an illusion. You have to stop fighting them. It looks real and it feels real, but Scott, you gotta trust me, it’s an illusion.”

Scott turned around to face the Nogitsune and the Oni. As they started walking forward, the Oni cut into them with their swords, but Scott managed to get to the Nogitsune and push past him into the school.

“We’re okay.” Scott said, looking around the school as the illusion had fallen.

Scott was going to say more but the Nogitsune that looked like Stiles knocked him and Kira out.

Stiles stood protectively in front of Lydia to see the angry and annoyed look on his mirrored face.

“This was my game.” The Nogitsune said in Stiles’ voice. “You think you can beat me at my game?”

Stiles backed up as the Nogitsune crowded closer. 

“Divine move. Divine move? You think you have any moves at all?” The Nogitsune asked, closing in on Stiles and Lydia even as they backed away from him. “You can kill the Oni, but me? Me? I’m a thousand years old. You can’t kill me!”

“But we can change you!” Lydia told him bravely.

The Nogitsune paused. “What?”

“You forgot about the scroll.” Stiles replied. 

“The Shugendo Scroll.” Lydia added.

The Nogitsune tilted his head as the thought came to him and a look of fear washed over him. “Change the host.”

“You can’t be a fox and a wolf.” Stiles said, just as Scott came up behind him and bit his arm.

The Nogitsune screamed until Kira’s katana impaled his chest. A fly flew out of his mouth as he contorted and choked. Isaac caught the fly in the triskele box and the Nogitsune’s body started to crack. It wasn’t long before the body fell and turned to smoke.

Stiles tried to hold on for as long as he could, but the darkness was calling him and he hadn’t slept in weeks. He fell down and into the black.

When he opened his eyes, he saw Scott, Kira, Isaac, and Lydia looking down at him with worry.

“Oh God, I fainted, didn’t I?” Stiles asked, feeling embarrassed and confused. “We’re alive? We all alive?”

Scott nodded his head. “Yeah, we’re okay.”

Lydia stood up abruptly before running out the door. Stiles picked himself up quickly and ran after her, catching her in his arms as he saw Derek and Chris Argent standing over Aiden’s body, covered by Ethan sobbing on him.

It was over. The Nogitsune was captured in the triskele box and Stiles was still alive. But the cost of it weighed heavily on him. Not only Allison and Aiden, but everyone else that had suffered because he had been too weak to fight off the Nogitsune in his head.

~

Stiles was happy to know that Malia had found Scott and that they were going to help her learn how to control the shift, but he wasn’t sure where he stood with her after they had had sex back in Eichen House. 

He didn’t really want to worry about that though, but at the same time, it felt nice to be able to worry about something that didn’t really matter, especially after what they had all just been through. He was cleaning out his room, removing all of the crazy newspaper clippings and yarn now that the case had been solved, when his dad walked in.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Just clearing my head.” Stiles replied, taking down the last of the newspaper.

His dad nodded and left.

Stiles put all of the trash into a box and set it down on the ground. He sat down on his bed and laid back, sighing deeply.

There was a noise that caused him to bolt upright and he found himself face to face with Derek.

“What are you doing here?” Stiles asked, letting his body relax again.

“I need to talk to you.” Derek said, stepping closer.

Stiles watched him carefully. “About what?”

“About your birthmark.” Derek’s jaw clenched and he looked nervous.

Stiles sighed, looking down at where his fingers were pulling on his shirt. “What about it?”

“I have one too.” Derek cleared his throat. “It… moves like yours does.”

“Really?” Stiles asked, sitting up again.

“You’re different.” Derek noticed aloud. “You’re not… You’re different.”

“Yeah, I guess that happens when you get possessed by a thousand year old Japanese demon.” Stiles shrugged. “Changes you a bit. Or maybe it’s the loss of friends and the heavy burden of guilt. Could be any one of those things.”

“Or all of them.” Derek looked down.

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. “Yeah, probably all of them.”

“It shouldn’t have happened, I’m sorry.” Derek shook his head. “It’s my fault.”

Stiles scoffed. “No, it wasn’t.”

“I left you.” Derek said, avoiding looking at Stiles.

“You didn’t leave me, Derek.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “You left because there isn’t anything for you here anymore. You have other things, and Cora.”

“Stiles.” Derek shook his head. “Would you like to see my birthmark?”

Stiles eyed him suspiciously. “It’s not on your ass, right?”

Derek cracked a smiled. “No, it’s on my chest.” 

“No, it isn’t.” Stiles snorted. “I would have seen it.”

Derek raised an eyebrow at him.

“You like to walk around shirtless a lot, okay?” Stiles said defensively. “Don’t look at me like I’m some pervert.”

Derek smiled in amusement and took his shirt off.

“Alright, so where is this supposed birthmark?” Stiles asked, confused to see Derek stepping toward him. “Umm, should I close my door? Like, is my dad gonna think that something that isn’t happening is happening? Because I’m starting to feel weird about this.”

“Look at it.” Derek said, tracing his soul mark with his fingers.

Stiles squinted at him. “I’ve already seen it.”

“Look again.” Derek instructed.

Stiles did as he was told and noticed that it wasn’t just a tree anymore, it had grown branches and there was lighting striking through the tree, but it seemed to be caught in the middle of the tree instead of breaking it. The roots were stronger and it seemed almost as big as the Nemeton now, if not bigger. It was weathered but fortified. The lightning seemed like just another circumstance that strengthened the tree.

Stiles noticed a movement in the corner of his eye and looked down to see Derek’s clenched fist shaking.

“It’s not a tattoo, Stiles.” Derek finally said. “Look at it closely.”

Stiles looked up at him, startled to see Derek’s gaze focused on Stiles. Stiles noticed that it didn’t look like a tattoo. It hadn’t faded at all and there was something different and magical in the way that it was shaped and placed.

“Can I…” Stiles cut himself off with a laugh. “Nevermind.”

Derek’s hand carefully caught Stiles’ wrist, guiding his hand to his chest.

“This is getting a little weird.” Stiles swallowed hard, trying to ignore the pounding in his chest.

Derek held his silence as he placed Stiles’ hand on the mark.

Stiles laid his palm flat against the firm muscle there and felt the mark start to move. It changed into a small seed, gradually growing into a sapling before it was stunted into looking sickly.

“What…?” Stiles looked up to see Derek’s fascinated expression as he watched it move.

Stiles looked back to how the sapling grew stronger and grew quickly, never moved until suddenly, it grew shaky and leaves started falling off. A lightning bolt appeared to strike through it, only deepening a crack until it had reached down to the roots.

Stiles removed his hand, suddenly overwhelmed, but the mark continued to move and grow. Grow stronger around the lightning bolt and shrink it down, almost overpowering it. The roots grew longer and thicker, tougher. Branches stemmed from it like crazy. It grew until it was back to how it had been before Stiles had touched it.

Stiles stumbled back, but Derek caught him as his knees hit his bed.

“It’s like mine.” Stiles watched him with wide eyes.

Derek just nodded, there was hesitance and fear in his eyes, but he was also determined.

Stiles thought for a moment before letting out an uneasy breath and pushed Derek back a bit.

“Stiles.” Derek said, uncharacteristically terrified.

Stiles pulled his own shirt off and closed his door, not wanting to have to explain what was happening to his dad when he wasn’t so sure himself.

“Okay, so what do they mean?” Stiles asked, clearing his throat awkwardly.

Derek looked down for a moment to think. “Do you love Lydia?”

Stiles was taken aback and couldn’t reply.

Derek closed his eyes and shook his head.

Before Stiles could think of what he was doing, he had Derek’s chin in his hand and was lifting it to look at him.

Derek opened his eyes in hopeful confusion.

“No.” Stiles shrugged, letting go of Derek’s chin.

“Do you love Malia?” Derek asked, uncertain.

Stiles laughed and his head hit Derek’s shoulder. He carefully moved his hand to rest on Derek’s mark again, feeling the rapid heartbeat.

“You slept with her.” Derek shrugged.

“There wasn’t a lot of sleeping involved.” Stiles shrugged, teasingly.

Derek held Stiles’ wrist from where his hand was tracing over the mark.

“No, I’m not in love with Lydia or Malia.” Stiles said firmly, looking back into Derek’s eyes.

“They’re soul marks.” Derek finally said. “They’re rare and only born werewolves get them.”

“Soul marks?” Stiles asked, confused.

“They’re matching marks that soul mates get.” Derek replied shakily. 

“Why do I have one?” Stiles asked, stepping away from Derek.

“Humans aren’t supposed to get them, it… it isn’t usual.” Derek stepped back too. “Until you, I’ve never heard of a human getting a soul mark. Werewolves mate with other werewolves, it’s a tradition of sorts. It especially helps in keeping pack order and dealing with other packs.”

“Why do I have one, Derek?” Stiles asked, starting to get freaked out.

“You’ve never been normal, Stiles.” Derek sighed. “I should’ve known, and I’m sorry.”

“Oh my God.” Stiles was starting to feel sick.

“I tried to reject it, like Peter did.” Derek tried to explain. “But I met you when we were both young and once we’ve met, you can’t. Peter said that I could change it? I’m not sure what he meant but-”

“Derek, shut up for a minute.” Stiles said, letting himself slump on his mattress. “How could-? Why would you want a soul mate? A person that the universe decided is who you have to be with. Why wouldn’t you want a say in who you love?”

“A soul mate isn’t what you think it is, Stiles.” Derek sighed. “It’s a perfect match.”

“You and me?” Stiles scoffed. “We hardly get along on a good day!”

“So you don’t want to try this.” Derek nodded.

“Um, no.” Stiles shook his head. “I don’t want to listen to the fucking universe, which has a way of continuously screwing me over, Derek. Why would you?”

“You’re rejecting it.” Derek said, absently touching the mark.

“No.” Stiles shook his head. “You’ve got the wrong person, Derek. It’s not me.”

“You have the mark, Stiles.” Derek reminded him. “It developed flames when my family was burned to death and a spiral when I lost Laura and was seeking revenge.”

“It could also be Peter.” Stiles shrugged, knowing that it was a weak argument.

Derek recoiled. “PETER?” 

“No, calm down.” Stiles rolled his eyes. “But my point is that it’s not me. You said that the tree represents strength and stability and it’s really grown, alright? It’s not me.”

“When you lost your mother, when she was sick and dying, my mark was a sick little sapling, Stiles. It didn’t grow and it was dying.” Derek told him. “And every time something happens to you, something that makes you smarter, stronger, older… The tree grows. You got possessed by the Nogitsune and electrocuted! You had Lichtenberg figures on your neck, and my mark had a lightning bolt striking right through the middle.”

“But it’s better now, okay?” Stiles said. “I’m not. I’m not strong or mentally stable right now. I’m just a dumb kid that finds dead bodies with Lydia. I’m not special or strong, I was too weak to fight off the Nogitsune. That’s on me.”

“No, Stiles, it’s on me.” Derek shook his head. “I took some of your strength, okay? I needed it while I was gone. Soul mates can do that because we’re linked. Instead of realizing that you were in trouble and giving you my strength, I took yours. And your mindset about where you stand with the pack is the one weakness that the Nogitsune used to possess you.”

Stiles shook his head in disbelief.

“Allison and Aiden? Everyone else that died or was hurt because of the Nogitsune?” Derek sighed. “It’s my fault.”

“It’s not your job to protect me, Derek.” Stiles scoffed. “I should be able to do that on my own.”

“And you can, Stiles. I took that away from you. I think part of me wanted you to need me so that I had a reason to come back.” Derek replied. 

Stiles shook his head and put his shirt back on. “This is insane and I’ve had enough crazy to last a lifetime.”

“You believe in werewolves and kanimas and kitsunes, but you won’t believe in soul mates?” Derek asked.

“I believe that the universe hates me and if I allow myself to care about someone, then they’re gonna get hurt. I’m not doing that to you.” Stiles replied.

“It’s already done, Stiles.” Derek huffed. “I lost Paige and my whole family already. I lost my Alpha status and my pack. That’s not your fault, Stiles, but this? Rejecting me isn’t… that’s not the universe hurting me.”

“Do you ever think that maybe the universe doesn’t want us to be happy?” Stiles asked with a shrug. “Maybe it made us soul mates just so we could hurt each other?”

“I think that the universe has screwed us both over and thought that maybe it owed us something in return for all of that.” Derek said, throwing his own shirt back on. “I’m not gonna force you, Stiles. I’m not leaving again until I get a definite answer from you, once you’ve really had time to consider it. You know where to find me.”

Derek left through the window before Stiles could get another word in. Stiles let himself flop on his bed in frustration.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured that Stiles had the right to his own freak out, but you tell me :) I might not post until Monday because I"ll be super busy with Christmas and whatnot but I'll try to post tomorrow!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is a really short chapter but I've been busy with holidays and stuff! Sadly I'm developing writer's block due to stress and lack of sleep but I promised a chapter a day and I keep my promises.

Derek stuck around for the next few months, helping the pack deal with the supernatural creatures that were drawn to Beacon Hills. He didn’t push Stiles into giving him an answer, but it seemed as though Stiles was trying to forget their whole conversation.

Things were tense at first, and Stiles didn’t volunteer to help Derek with anything anymore, even stopped coming around the loft without two or more people. Scott didn’t seem to notice and neither did Kira, but Lydia had become more receptive than usual since she was trying to master her abilities and ended up stranding Stiles and Derek alone with a bunch of berserkers.

Stiles refused Derek’s help at first, being stubborn and trying to fight off supernatural creatures with his baseball bat. Derek eventually got into a position that almost ended with a berserker crushing his skull and Stiles had smashed the berserker’s bone helmet off with his baseball bat, sending it backwards just enough to let Derek crush its head in.

After that, they finished off the berserkers relatively quickly since they didn’t have an actual goal. Stiles would distract them and Derek would kill them. The last one, however, was intent on destroying Derek thus ignoring Stiles, so Stiles came up behind him and hit him on the back of the head over and over again as the berserker tore through Derek’s skin. Despite the cracks on its armor and body, the berserker seemed wilder than usual and didn’t stop slashing at Derek until Stiles ripped its helmet off and bashed its skull in successfully with five different approaches.

Derek was just conscious enough to see Stiles continue to beat on the berserker long after it was dead, and then toss his bat aside to take care of Derek. 

When Derek woke up, Stiles had moved him to some shelter and mended his wounds with what he could. Derek smiled at Stiles dazedly, but Stiles ignored him to continue dabbing away some excess blood.

“Where’s my shirt?” Derek asked, trying to sit up.

“It was torn too much, so I decided that it would work better as bandages instead.” Stiles replied, tightening a piece of the shirt around a nasty gash on Derek’s leg.

“How long was I out?” Derek asked, leaning back.

“About an hour.” Stiles shrugged. “I called Lydia, but she called me stupid so I called Scott. He’s on his way.”

“Why’d she call you stupid?” Derek asked, confused.

Stiles shrugged. 

“Stiles.” Derek reached out for Stiles’ hand, but he pulled away. 

“I’m gonna go make sure he sees us when he gets here.” Stiles said, separating himself.

“Why isn’t he here yet?” Derek asked.

“He was taking care of an omega that wandered into town. He said it wouldn’t take him long.” Stiles said, walking away.

Scott did eventually show up and took Derek to the loft where Stiles and Peter took care of his wounds. There wasn’t much to do since they healed on their own, but Peter insisted that Stiles stay and Scott told Stiles that he wasn’t needed anywhere so he could.

Stiles sat waiting with Derek for a while, just playing with his old chess set that Derek hadn’t remembered to return.

“Who’s winning?” Derek asked, walking over to sit with Stiles.

Stiles glared at him.

“I meant black or white.” Derek shrugged.

“Black.” Stiles replied, moving a pawn forward.

“I feel better, you can leave if you want.” Derek said, knowing that Stiles didn’t want to be alone with him.

“Kicking me out?” Stiles asked, raising a challenging eyebrow.

“You’re the one who didn’t want to stay.” Derek scoffed.

“That was before I was in the middle of something.” Stiles challenged.

Derek just shrugged. “Just remember to take it home with you when you go.”

Derek was about to leave when a nervous smell hit him and he saw Stiles staring at him.

Stiles looked back down to the chess set.

“What-” Derek sighed and moved back to sit next to Stiles. “What are you doing for your birthday?”

“I’m not sure.” Stiles shrugged, not looking at Derek.

Derek watched Stiles closely before deciding to move close enough for their legs to bump. Stiles didn’t move away though, so Derek didn’t either.

“If I threw a party, would you come?” Stiles asked, moving a piece on the board carefully.

“You’re not the kind to throw parties.” Derek smirked. “That’s more Lydia’s thing.”

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled. “She’s been asking me if I want one though, and I think that it doesn’t really matter what my answer is, she’s still throwing one.”

Derek smiled back, trying to catch Stiles’ eye.

“You wanna come?” Stiles asked, moving another piece on the board.

“The last time I went to a party it was held here in the loft without my permission and I tossed the DJ table over. Sure you want me to come?” Derek asked lightly.

Stiles chuckled. “You wouldn’t pull that at my party.”

Derek shrugged.

“That’s not a yes or a no.” Stiles commented.

“I’ll consider it.” Derek promised.

“Look at us, getting along.” Stiles smirked, finally looking at Derek.

They were inches apart, and Derek could feel Stiles’ breath hitch until he let it out shakily.

“Derek.” Stiles said softly.

Derek dipped his head slightly, watching Stiles’ expression, but Stiles didn’t move. Derek placed a brief, gentle kiss on Stiles’ lips before standing up.

“You’re in checkmate.” Derek told him, pointing at the board. “Congratulations on winning.”

“But I lost.” Stiles pointed out.

“I guess it just depends on how you look at it.” Derek shrugged, heading up the stairs.

Stiles picked up the chessboard and its pieces, packing them in his bag before leaving.

~

“Stiles, you’re being ridiculous.” Lydia said, laying down on his bed with Malia. “Of course you have a choice.”

“No, because it means that no matter what, I’m still meant to be gay.” Stiles shook his head. “Where’s the choice in that?”

“Stiles… no one chooses to be gay.” Lydia glared at him. “And you like girls, so obviously you’re not gay.”

“My soul mate is a guy.” Stiles scoffed. “I’m gay.”

“Oh! Bisexual!” Malia chirped in happily. “You like guys and girls.”

“How-? How did you learn that word?” Stiles asked, staring at her in confusion.

“Well, I personally don’t care, but Kira was trying to figure out if I liked guys or girls since I had sex with you but I made out with her. She told me I was bisexual.” Malia shrugged.

“You made out with Kira?” Stiles was confused.

“Yeah, after we went out dancing, things got heated and I kissed her.” Malia replied easily.

“She’s with Scott.” Stiles pointed out.

“That’s why we stopped.” Malia nodded. “She prefers monogamy.”

“Where’d you learn _that_ word?” Stiles asked, even more confused.

“Lydia.” Malia said, pointing to Lydia guilty face.

“I just told her that she shouldn’t be restrained by monogamy, okay?” Lydia said defensively. “We’re teenagers and we can have fun.”

“So, I should have fun before I decide to get with Derek?” Stiles asked.

“God, no.” Lydia smacked him on the head. “You have a soul mate! Don’t be stupid about it.”

Stiles buried his head in his hands.

“What does Derek want?” Malia asked, chewing on some jerky.

“I don’t know.” Stiles sighed. “He hasn’t brought it up since he first told me.”

“Which means he’s waiting for you to respond.” Lydia said thoughtfully. “He’s already decided then.”

“Yeah?” Stiles asked, remembering the brief kiss that Derek had laid on him.

“He wants you.” Malia nodded. “I can smell it on him sometimes. Smells good.”

Stiles squinted at her. “He’s your cousin.”

“So he can’t smell good?” Malia asked, looking to Lydia for clarification.

Lydia shook her head. 

“I don’t know what I want.” Stiles said, leaning back.

“Give it a shot.” Lydia suggested. “If you really want to choose, then the only way to know for sure if you want to be with him, is to try. Honestly, if it doesn’t work out then you know that he’s not your soul mate and the worst that will happen is that he leaves and never comes back.”

“I don’t want that to happen.” Stiles admitted. 

“Is that why you’re taking so long on what should be an easy decision?” Lydia asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Stiles sighed. “I want him to be, you know?”

Lydia gave him a wide-eyed look.

Stiles met hers with his own.

“What do you think deer jerky tastes like?” Malia asked.

“I want him to be my soul mate.” Stiles repeated. 

“Then go tell him.” Lydia smiled. 

“Yeah, you’re- I’m gonna go do that right now.” Stiles said, grabbing an over-shirt and throwing it over his t-shirt as he ran to his Jeep.

~

Derek was refolding his clothing and putting them in his duffle when he heard Stiles’ Jeep drive up. He turned off the alarm and threw the clothing in haphazardly.

Stiles was running up the steps and Derek was feeling worried enough to open the door before he got there.

“What is it?” Derek asked, concerned. “What’s happened?”

Stiles struggled to catch his breath.

“You could have texted or called, Stiles.” Derek said, smelling the anxiety coming from Stiles. “What’s going on?”

“Yes.” Stiles started laughing.

“What?” Derek asked, confused. “Yes what?”

“Derek.” Stiles cleared his throat and held Derek’s hands. “I want you to be my soul mate.”

“I _am_ your soul mate, Stiles.” Derek half-glared. 

“Fine, I’m glad that you’re my soul mate?” Stiles smiled.

Derek wasn’t sure that Stiles was saying what he meant.

“Dammit, you dumb Sourwolf!” Stiles said before throwing himself into Derek’s arms and kissing him fiercely.

Derek responded almost immediately, pulling Stiles closer and deepening the kiss.

Stiles pulled away after a few moments.

“You want me.” Derek smiled.

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled back. “Let’s do this.”

Derek nodded. 

“Cool.” Stiles said awkwardly. “Honestly I expected something a little different.”

“What did you expect?” Derek asked.

“I don’t know, maybe the stars align and there are fireworks in the sky?” Stiles chuckled. “I just kissed my soul mate and I don’t feel any different.”

Derek cleared his throat awkwardly. 

“Not that it wasn’t a good kiss, just… not mind-blowing.” Stiles shrugged.

“Oh.” Derek said softly.

“We’ll practice more.” Stiles nodded.

“Stiles, why are you here?” Derek asked finally.

“To give you my answer.” Stiles told him. “You wanted one.”

“No, I mean, why now?” Derek asked, feeling disappointed.

“Because, now is when I decided that it’s okay?” Stiles said uncertainly.

Derek sighed. “Okay.”

“Are you okay?” Stiles asked.

Derek felt absolutely crushed to realize that Stiles didn’t actually feel the way that Derek did. For Derek, his feelings had almost been unbearable until he finally admitted them to himself. For Stiles, it seemed different. Like an easy way out.

“Derek?” Stiles asked again.

“I’m fine, Stiles.” Derek assured him. “You should go home, I thought something urgent happened. I was in the middle of something.”

“Oh… right, okay.” Stiles nodded. “I’ll see you later.”

Derek nodded and turned away.

Stiles slowly made his way back down to his Jeep and Derek pulled his shirt up to feel his mark. He focused on Stiles and who he was… the way that Peter had told him before. The same way that he continued to make sure that Stiles was alright whenever he got himself into a dangerous situation with Scott.

Derek felt the wind hitting his face and the car door closing too early on his foot, but he couldn’t feel what Stiles was feeling. Not yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so basically the rest of the story is deviating from canon completely and just focusing on the soul marks again. I'm going to explain Stiles' behavior, I promise! Be patient with me?


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping that this would be a lighter chapter? I'm posting it early because I'm exhausted and I need sleep but I also didn't want to wait to post until the morning. Keep in mind that I don't have a beta and very little editing is being done with the time frame I set for myself so it's probably coming out really shitty. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

“I don’t know, man.” Stiles said, shrugging his coat on. “I think he’s been avoiding me.”

“Why would he do that?” Scott asked, oblivious.

“I mean, he told me that we’re soul mates, he waits months for me to accept that so I don’t know.” Stiles sighed.

“Wait, what?” Scott asked, alarmed. “Soul mates? Is that even real?”

“Yeah…” Stiles looked at Scott’s completely shocked expression.

“So, Derek’s your soul mate?” Scott asked. “He’s a dude.”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded.

“This happened months ago? Months?” Scott asked, his eyebrows disappeared into his hairline.

“I mean, he _told_ me months ago… after the Nogitsune.” Stiles explained. “He kissed me- well, more of a peck, really…. Anyway, he kissed me like two weeks ago, so last week I went over and I kissed him, like _really_ kissed him, and now he’s avoiding me.”

Scott’s mouth hung open.

“You didn’t know?” Stiles asked, grimacing a bit at forgetting to tell his best friend what had been going on.

“I didn’t even know you liked dudes.” Scott shrugged helplessly.

“Yeah.” Stiles said nervously.

Scott shook himself off. “So, you kissed him… alright. Tell me everything.”

Stiles did. He told Scott everything that he could remember.

“So, he goes over to your house to tell you, even though he obviously freaked out about it before, so he’s scared.” Scott recapped. “You basically fight him on it and reject him, right?”

“I mean, I wouldn’t say rejected him so much as- yeah. No, yeah, I rejected him.” Stiles conceded.

“He gives you time, doesn’t push you at all because he freaked out so he’s letting you… think it over…” Scott squinted in thought. “He decides to make a small move, you obsess over it for a week and don’t talk to him and ignore his calls, and then you show up at the loft to make out with him.”

“Yeah.” Stiles grimaced again at how it sounded.

“You supposedly accept him as your soul mate but also comment on how uneventful your first kiss is.” Scott finished. “Stiles, he loves you. He bore a little bit of his soul to you.”

“Yeah…?” Stiles shrugged.

“I’m the oblivious one, remember?” Scott chuckled. 

“Scott, a little more help.” Stiles glared.

“Stiles, you don’t love him, do you?” Scott asked.

“I’m seventeen, Scott.” Stiles scoffed.

“I loved Allison, dude.” Scott shrugged. “When you know, you know. It isn’t a decision that you’re supposed to make. It’s not even about emotions, it’s just something that comes over you that you can’t control. It’s terrifying. Have you felt that?”

“No.” Stiles shrugged. “But I haven’t really dated Derek.”

“No, but you know him.” Scott told him. “He knows you and with everything that you two have been through, he just started loving you.”

“He’s known that we’re soul mates longer than I have though.” Stiles reminded him. “I mean, don’t you think that the knowledge that he was supposed to be with me might have helped that a bit?”

“But what if he didn’t?” Scott asked. “He was with Jennifer for a while and with her ties to the Nemeton, he could have thought that it was her. You didn’t show him your mark until just before he left, which means he didn’t even know about it. Besides, he told you that werewolves are usually supposed to be with other werewolves, so he probably didn’t even consider a human soul mate.”

“He still had months to think about it.” Stiles reminded him. 

“So have you.” Scott countered. “Do you love him?”

“I don’t know, I haven’t actually thought about that.” Stiles admitted. “It’s been hard to, you know? With everything going on and school, I can’t really think about it.”

“I think you have your answer.” Scott told him sadly. “You don’t. I think he knows it too.”

Stiles sighed and flopped onto his bed.

~

Derek had been having a hard time with the realization that his soul mate didn’t love him. However, after trying to avoid Stiles to cope with his feelings, Derek decided that love was something that grew over time and he was going to make the effort with Stiles since he was given the chance.

Despite the fact that Derek had decided to actively date Stiles, Stiles was swamped with school, homework, and supernatural creatures being drawn to Beacon Hills. Derek was busy too, especially since he had to handle everything while the rest of the pack was in school. Still, Derek expected for Stiles to make a little bit of an effort after he stormed into the loft to kiss him.

“Derek, what are you doing here?” Stiles asked, seeing Derek parked in front of the school.

“I came by to pick you up. Let’s get lunch.” Derek said, smiling as nicely as he could.

“I ate during the lunch break and I gotta get home to do some research on chimeras.” Stiles said, lifting his backpack higher on his shoulder. “Maybe later.”

Derek watched as Stiles walked over to his Jeep before driving away.

Scott came down the steps a few moments later.

“Hey, Derek! Picking up Stiles?” Scott asked.

“No, he’s going home.” Derek said, keeping the sadness out of his voice. “We should take care of those chimeras.”

Scott looked ready to say something so Derek drove off before Scott got the opportunity.

~

Stiles’ birthday was coming up and he was excited. 

“Can you believe that I’m actually gonna be eighteen by the end of the week?” Stiles asked, finishing up some research while Lydia went through his closet.

“You don’t have anything here that will make you pop at your birthday party. We’re going shopping, come on.” Lydia said, mostly ignoring him as she grabbed the keys to his Jeep and walked out the door.

Stiles sighed and followed after her, knowing that she wouldn’t take no for an answer.

They walked around the mall around five times before Lydia found enough outfits to choose from and it was time to take her home.

“Where exactly is the party?” Stiles asked, realizing that while everyone had already been invited, he wasn’t sure where it was going to be.

“At my grandmother’s cabin by the lake.” Lydia said, going through the bags. “You like the color red, but I’ve always preferred blue on you… Wearing both would just make you look like an American flag and that is _not_ what we’re going for.”

“I don’t even know where that is.” Stiles replied, trying to stay focused on the road.

“I’ll pick you up if you want.” Lydia shrugged. “Green makes your eyes pop, but more of a neon green. It’s too much.”

“Are you sure that skinny jeans is a good idea?” Stiles asked, remember how hard he had had to try to squeeze into them.

“These black skinny jeans do wonders for your ass.” Lydia pointed out. “I can’t believe you bought more comic shirts. You’re turning eighteen, which means you’ll be an adult, but you’d rather act like a funny little boy.”

“How do you intend to pick me up?” Stiles asked, ignoring her. 

“I have a car, Stiles, I just prefer to save on gas and have other people pick me up most of the time.” Lydia rolled her eyes. “I don’t want you to wear a button down… it makes you look like a twink hipster. You need to look like a man.”

“Then why the skinny jeans?” Stiles asked, groaning.

“For later, when you want to look high schooler hot.” Lydia explained. “Besides, everyone should have some black skinny jeans that make their ass look good.”

Stiles gaped at her for a few moments before turning his attention back to the road.

“Burgundy is a good color on anyone.” Lydia hummed. 

“Who says I need any color?” Stiles shrugged sarcastically. “What if I just walked around shirtless in those ass-hugging skinny jeans.”

Lydia glared at him. “I’m trying to help you.”

“I know, but really?” Stiles sighed. “Why did it have to be a big party? I would have preferred something small with just the pack, you know?”

“Is that so?” Lydia hummed. “I though you would’ve liked more people to help you avoid Derek.”

Stiles froze momentarily. “I’m not avoiding Derek.”

“I don’t have to be a Banshee to know that you are, Stiles.” Lydia sighed. “After everything you’ve been through together and finding out that he’s your soul mate, I thought you might actually allow yourself to try, but you just won’t. I didn’t expect it from you, that’s all.”

“Expect what? I’m not doing anything.” Stiles huffed, white knuckling the steering wheel.

“Exactly: you’re not doing anything. You freaked out and you’re too scared to actually talk to him. You’re always the first one to run head first into danger but you’re not letting yourself feel anything for him because you’re scared. I didn’t expect you to be such a coward.” Lydia scoffed. “Especially when there’s no chance of him rejecting you because he actually loves you and is who you’re meant to be with for the rest of your life.”

Stiles grit his teeth, unsure of what to respond.

“Maybe a dark green would be nice.” Lydia hummed, picking out a shirt from a bag. “It doesn’t exactly bring out your eyes, but it softens your features. Have you considered growing out your facial hair?”

“No way.” Stiles said, pushing down the anger he was feeling. “It’ll come out patchy and I don’t have the time to try and see that it doesn’t.”

Lydia just hummed and kept rifling through the bags until they got to her house and he dropped her off.

Stiles couldn’t help feeling like she had struck a nerve and tossed and turned the rest of the night, unable to sleep.

~

It had been a difficult week for the pack, especially since Scott wanted to get rid of most of their problems before Stiles’ birthday party on Saturday. Derek was working twice as hard as anyone since they all had school and he also wanted Stiles to have a good time at his party. 

“You know that it’s going to be a big party, right?” Peter said, reading a book lazily on the couch.

“What’s your point, Peter?” Derek asked, knowing that Peter was angling to provoke him.

“I know that you want to talk to Stiles and he’s been ignoring you, but that party isn’t going to give you an opportunity.” Peter said, putting his book down and standing up. “If anything, he’ll just have a bunch of good excuses to ignore you all night.”

“I know.” Derek sighed. “I have a plan.”

“When do your plans ever really work?” Peter asked mockingly. “Leave the planning to Scott and Stiles, they’re better at it.”

“I’m going.” Derek said with finality.

“Do you want some fashion advice?” Peter smirked walking over to him. “You could use some.”

“Not from someone who thinks that low v-necks on a forty-year-old man is sexy.” Derek shook his head.

“I look great.” Peter scoffed.

“You look like a loser old guy that is still trying to look like a teenager.” Derek raised an eyebrow. “Tight clothes and a cocky smile? It’s sad.”

Peter just laughed him off. “At least I know how to let loose, and how to get some.”

Derek glared at him, harder than usual.

“You’re right though.” Peter shrugged, picking his book back up and sitting back on the couch. “Stiles has seen you shirtless fresh from working out and he still doesn’t want you. What you’re wearing isn’t the problem.”

Derek felt his chest constrict again, but he didn’t know what to reply so he just threw on his jacket and left.

The cabin was already overflowing with teenagers by the time Derek got there. Scott was sitting with Kira on the pier, both of them in their own little world looking happy. Lydia was struggling with freshmen who were trying to stick around, but Derek showed up behind them and was easily able to scare them off by shoving them back to their cars. 

“Where’s Stiles?” Derek asked, looking around.

“He’s playing beer pong with some of the lacrosse team.” Lydia pointed out. “You should probably go save him from himself.”

Derek raised his eyebrows momentarily, ready to head over to see Stiles, but Lydia caught his arm and looked him over.

“I thought you’d put a bit more effort.” She sighed before pulling him away. “But I was prepared for this, come with me.”

Lydia led him away to the storage shed and pulled out a bag. 

“Blue looks great on you, but Stiles loves red so I got you this.” Lydia said, pulling out a dark red Henley. 

Derek just raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“You like Henley’s, Stiles likes red.” Lydia pointed out. “It won’t make you uncomfortable, but Stiles will love seeing you in it and the shade goes well with your skin tone. Trust me on this.”

Derek sighed and shook off his jacket.

“Oh!” Lydia said, pulling out another bag. “I got you a new one.”

Derek squinted at her suspiciously as he looked it over.

“It’s insulated to keep you warm, but I think the design will suit your physic much better.” Lydia smiled. “Besides, it’s new, and it’s about time that you replaced your old one.”

“Thanks.” Derek said, unsure of why she was doing any of this.

“The jeans you’re wearing are fine. Black jeans go with anything. Change quickly.” Lydia said, heading out. “I’m gonna go make sure that Stiles is okay.”

Derek watched her leave before changing and then followed after her.

Stiles wasn’t drunk yet, but he was definitely buzzed. What caught Derek’s attention though, was that Stiles wasn’t wearing his usual t-shirt and over-shirt or hoodie. Stiles was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans that hugged all the right places and a simple white button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and the first two buttons undone. He was even wearing dress shoes that looked oddly comfortable.

He should have looked like a hipster, but he looked casually professional. Stiles looked like a fully-fledged adult, with a bit of his facial hair darkening his features. Even Stiles’ hair looked different. While it was still messy and long, there was product in it and it was perfectly tousled instead of just combed through.

Stiles was laughing easily as he made a ball land into a cup and someone had to take a drink.

“Why can’t you have aim this good out on the field, Stilinski?” Someone teased playfully.

“I’m not drunk enough!” Stiles laughed, taking another drink as someone’s ball made it into his cup.

The others continued playing as Stiles took a seat on a nearby chair and looked around, finally seeing Derek. 

Derek held his breath for a moment as he waited for Stiles’ reaction. Stiles’ eyebrows raised and his face flushed, his mouth opening in surprise before it turned into a bright smile.

“You look hot.” Stiles said, gesturing him over with the cup in his hand.

Derek made his way to the chair next to Stiles, staring someone down until they moved.

“Didn’t think you would come.” Stiles said, leaning back and watching the game continue.

“I didn’t know if you wanted me to.” Derek raised an eyebrow at him.

Stiles shrugged. “Me neither, but I’m glad you did.” 

Derek smiled softly, trying to catch Stiles’ eye.

Stiles downed the contents of his cup and traded with someone else.

“Maybe you should slow down.” Derek suggested. “Your dad is the sheriff.”

“He had the day off yesterday so he could spend it with me, which means he’s working a double shift.” Stiles shrugged. “He won’t be back home until tomorrow afternoon. Besides, he’s got a huge caseload since we powered up the Nemeton again, he’ll probably go to sleep before he can even see me hungover.”

Derek just sighed as Stiles took a huge gulp from his cup.

“Let’s get you something to drink.” Stiles said, slurring a little as he stood up. 

“I can’t get drunk, remember?” Derek said, reaching out in case Stiles tripped, but he waved him off.

“That’s why we have punch and water.” Stiles giggled. “It’s not all beer. We have choices.”

Derek sighed as he followed after Stiles, apologizing when Stiles bumped into people, but they also seemed too far gone to really care.

“We haaave: water, soda, lots of soda, juice of the apple variety, some punch, might be spiked by now…” Stiles said, pouring himself some into a cup and taking a taste. “Definitely spiked and very good.”

“Stiles.” Derek said, trying to take the cup from Stiles, but he just moved away.

“I think one of the girls at school’s dad owns a truck for Starbucks or something ‘cause we got a couple bottles of that.” Stiles said, taking another drink. “And a bunch of other stuff like beer bottles, beer cans and a keg.”

“Wouldn’t you like to remember _some_ of your party?” Derek asked, watching as Stiles walked over to a table full of liquor.

“The only reason my social anxiety isn’t making an appearance is because I’m wasted, okay?” Stiles snorted, pouring margarita mix into his freshly drained cup with tequila. “I’ve never had vodka, I hear it’s strong.”

Stiles poured some in a cup but Derek pulled it out of his hand.

“I was gon’ give to you anyhow.” Stiles snickered with a shrug. “Try it for me.”

Derek knew that if he didn’t drink it then Stiles would, and so he downed the strong liquor in one go.

Stiles stared at him for a long time, his mouth hanging open a little bit as he waited for a reaction.

Derek just stared right back.

“’nthin?” Stiles asked, tipping forward a bit.

“No.” Derek shook his head. “I metabolize it too quickly and it just tastes bad.”

“Like Cap’n ‘merca.” Stiles grinned widely.

Derek rolled his eyes.

“Where’s Scott?” Stiles said, stumbling out the door.

Derek caught him before he could actually fall when he tripped on a step, but Stiles shoved him off after patting his chest lightly.

“SCOOOTT!” Stiles screamed, throwing his cup in the air.

Scott and Kira looked up at the same time and Stiles walked over to them, barely stopping himself from tripping on his own feet.

“Youre sup’r solduur.” Stiles smiled, smacking Scott on accident as he sat next to them.

“What?” Scott asked, looking up at Derek. “Lydia was supposed to be watching him, why’s he wasted?”

“He drank a lot of…well, different things.” Derek sighed.

Stiles kept smacking Scott for his attention and muttering in between giggles.

“Yeah, I know.” Scott said, turning back to Stiles. “I’m Captain America because I can’t get drunk, right?”

Stiles nodded furiously but that seemed to disagree with him as he leaned over Scott’s lap.

Derek pulled Stiles off of him in case he needed to throw up.

Stiles started to gag, but he smiled up at Derek before letting himself drop with a thump to lie down.

“Oh, God.” Scott said, standing up.

“His dad’s the sheriff, he can’t see him like this.” Kira said, looking at Scott with worry.

“He can’t stay here.” Scott shook his head. “Can you imagine what Lydia’s going to do to him?”

“I’ll take him home, he said that the sheriff won’t be back home tonight.” Derek said, readying himself to pick up Stiles, but Stiles shoved him away.

“Not a girl.” Stiles muttered.

“I don’t know.” Kira said, looking down at Stiles. “What if he hears about the party or goes home early?”

“Besides, he needs someone to watch him. He’s never gotten this drunk before.” Scott sighed. “I’d take him to my house but my mom’s got a twelve hour shift that starts at five in the morning and he’ll wake her up.”

“We can take care of him at the loft.” Derek said, helping Stiles back onto his feet.

“Doesn’t feel good.” Stiles groaned.

“Let’s get him into my car.” Derek instructed, Scott pulling one of Stiles’ arms over his shoulders.

“Smells good.” Stiles breathed deeply. “Doesn’t he always smell good?”

Scott gave Derek an assessing look before turning back to Stiles.

“Lydia.” Stiles murmured, turning back to the house.

Derek tried not to think that Stiles wanted her to come with them.

“What about her, Stiles?” Scott asked. 

“Bag.” Stiles gagged again, but didn’t let anything come out.

“Here.” Kira said, handing Derek a bottle of water. “I’ll go get some more, but try to get him to drink this.”

Derek took the bottle and Scott took the weight of Stiles.

“Hey, drink this.” Derek said, uncapping the bottle. “You need it.”

“No.” Stiles said, pulling away but Scott held onto him.

“Stiles, come on.” Derek huffed.

“Always so grumpy.” Stiles glared at him. “NOO.”

“Why not?” Scott said, struggling with Stiles’ squirming.

“Wha’ ‘f drugged it?” Stiles asked, pulling away from him.

“You don’t believe that.” Derek said, keeping the hurt out of his voice.

“He wouldn’t need to.” Scott said, shoving Stiles into the back seat. “You’re already pretty far gone on your own.”

Kira came back with a whole case of water bottles. 

Derek opened the trunk and she placed them in the back.

“I’ll do damage control with Lydia, I’ll stop by the loft after the party.” Scott promised. “You’ll take care of him, right?”

Derek furrowed his brow at Scott.

“Things have been weird since… you know.” Scott explained. “I’m just trying to look out for him. I still trust you and I know you won’t hurt him, but I can’t promise that he won’t hurt you.”

“Because he doesn’t love me.” Derek nodded. “I’ve been through worse, Scott.”

Scott gave him a classic sad puppy look and Derek got into his car to avoid looking at it.

“We’re both going to be fine.” Derek told Scott before driving away, even if he didn’t really believe it himself.

Stiles seemed to sober up slightly with the bottle of water. His words were slightly less slurred and he could stand if not move on his own. Derek had to help him up the stairs to the loft, but Stiles was doing much better and looked less ready to throw up.

Derek led the way to the bed for Stiles to rest, but Stiles took him by surprise and pulled Derek down with him. Stiles’ arms wrapped around Derek’s neck and Derek landed on top of him awkwardly. 

Stiles was breathing heavily from the weight but refused to let go so Derek rolled over to leave Stiles on top. Stiles smiled down at him before kissing him harshly, all teeth and tongue, slightly disoriented and lazy.

“I’m eighteen.” Stiles smirked, pulling away.

Derek felt frozen in place and uncertain.

Stiles sat up with a wobble to take his shirt off. “Lydia ironed this herself, she is not going to be happy.”

Derek’s heart started beating faster as Stiles slowly fumbled with the buttons and the mark on his chest was revealed along with lean muscles and a flat stomach.

Stiles started giggling when he couldn’t figure out the middle button. “Help.”

Derek just barely managed to keep his hands from shaking and undid the last few buttons. Stiles flailed around to get the shirt off, falling off of Derek onto his side before Derek pulled it off of him carefully and took his time to fold it.

He could feel Stiles’ gaze on him, despite turning his back to him, but he wasn’t going to let anything happen between them. Not like this.

“Derek.” Stiles said impatiently. “Derek, come here.”

Derek sighed and turned around walking over to Stiles.

“What’d you get me for my birthday.” Stiles asked, pulling Derek by his jeans.

“Stiles, stop.” Derek said, trying to stop Stiles from fumbling with his zipper.

“Fine, do it yourself.” Stiles said, letting himself fall back on the bed as his hands awkwardly tried to find his own zipper.

“Stiles, keep your pants on.” Derek said, starting to get agitated.

“They’re. Too. Tight!” Stiles huffed as he finally managed to open the fly and was currently struggling to pull them down.

“Stiles, stop!” Derek yelled, causing Stiles to stop what he was doing.

“The boys can’t breathe, okay?” Stiles mumbled. “You could at least help.”

“Nothing is happening between us tonight.” Derek said firmly. “Understand?”

Stiles muttered something incoherent and Derek sighed.

“Fine.” Derek caved, just because the pants did look tight.

Derek started by taking off Stiles’ fancy shoes and then pulled the pant legs down. “Hold on to your briefs.”

Stiles did as he was told and Derek pulled the jeans all the way down from the waist, leaving Stiles half-naked in only his boxer-briefs and socks.

“Derek.” Stiles muttered, reaching a hand out.

“What?” Derek asked, ignoring the hand.

“I’m cold.” Stiles complained before rolling over.

Derek sighed and tried to push Stiles to the other side of the bed but Stiles wouldn’t move. Instead, Derek threw Stiles over his shoulder and moved the blankets down before letting Stiles fall back on the bed.

“Rude.” Stiles mumbled, looking sick again. “I’m not feeling good.”

Derek held back a growl as he looked around for a plastic bag or trash can.

Stiles moaned and Derek turned to find Stiles wrapped up in Derek’s blankets with his face shoved into a pillow.

“Still cold.” Stiles complained. “Come here.”

“Stiles.” Derek shook his head.

“Just to cuddle.” Stiles promised.

Derek took one look at Stiles and caved. He climbed in next to Stiles and wrapped an arm around him.

Stiles hummed contentedly. “Weird.”

“What?” Derek asked, ready to move if he needed to.

“I like being the little spoon.” Stiles sighed, shifting closer to Derek.

Derek didn’t know what to reply but he held Stiles closer, placing his hand over the soul mark. Stiles didn’t say anything else and fell asleep after a while. Derek followed soon after with the feeling of Stiles’ chest rising and falling against his palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Decided to leave off on a nice happy note. Yes, I generally project my own tiredness into the characters when I write. I'm working on getting rid of that habit. Things will come to a head in the next chapter, so a little bit more pain, but it shouldn't last too long. Probably just that one chapter. idk. I hope so. I'm done making them fight but then it just happens because that's how they are. 
> 
> Please let me know of any spelling or grammatical errors that might need fixing?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update and thanks for commenting!

Stiles woke up with a massive headache and a dry mouth. He turned over in an unfamiliar bed to see a water bottle and a jar of aspirin on a nearby table along with a note.

_Went to get you some food, I’ll be back soon._

Stiles downed the water bottle and three aspirins before lying back on the bed trying to remember the night before. He looked around and realized he was in Derek’s loft and a wave of panic rushed over him as he realized that the other side of the bed looked slept in and he was mostly naked.

Stiles stood up on wobbly legs and started looking around for his clothing, surprised to find them neatly folded on a chair. 

Derek walked in with the smell of pancakes and bacon hitting Stiles’ sensitive nose.

“I got coffee.” Derek said, revealing a cup in his other hand. “Breakfast in a box.”

“Hey, Derek.” Stiles said awkwardly.

“You should put your clothes on.” Derek said, avoiding looking at Stiles.

“Did any- um…” Stiles bit his lip. “Did we do anything last night?”

Derek lifted his eyebrows judgmentally. “You were slobbering drunk, Stiles. You _still_ smell like a distillery. It’s not a good look on you.”

Stiles sighed with relief.

“It’s almost noon.” Derek said, placing the food and coffee on the table. “You should hurry up so you can go home and take a shower.”

“Are you kicking me out?” Stiles asked, the awkward feeling coming back.

“I had to babysit you last night and make sure that you didn’t choke on your own vomit.” Derek glared at him. “I went out to get you breakfast but it’s not fun for me, Stiles. You’re eighteen now, you need to take care of yourself because someone might not always be here to do it for you.”

Stiles scoffed. “As my ‘soul mate’ shouldn’t you be?”

“Just because I care about you doesn’t mean that I’m your own personal assistant.” Derek told him firmly. “You shouldn’t expect me to still be here when you’ve made your position on the whole thing quite clear. I’ve stuck around for _months_ because I thought you needed time to process everything, but maybe you’re right. Maybe this was just another way for the universe to screw me over.”

“Derek.” Stiles sighed, feeling annoyed. “You’re my friend-”

“Do you love me?” Derek asked, cutting him off. “Better yet: do you feel anything towards me that might turn into love?”

“Derek.” Stiles didn’t know what to say.

“I didn’t think so.” Derek nodded.

“Silence means consent?” Stiles tried, but Derek gave him a dirty look.

Stiles knew that Derek was hurting, but he didn’t know what to do to make it better. After the Nogitsune, he had felt terrified and nothing but terrified. He didn’t believe in soul mates for the better part of his life and yet, here he was, barely eighteen and forced to choose whether or not he wanted his. He had plans for his life, and while Stiles had fantasized about being with Lydia for a while and he felt a strong connection to Derek, he hadn’t actually thought about being in a relationship. Let alone one that would last from now until the end of eternity.

Derek’s shoulders slumped and he turned away. “Finish eating, Stiles.”

Stiles’ mind was racing, so he reached out to touch Derek softly on the shoulder. Derek turned around with a hard expression. Stiles cautiously brought a hand up to the side of Derek’s face and pulled him into a kiss. Derek was still for a moment but responded, opening easily for Stiles as Stiles started rubbing his hands down Derek’s chest.

His hands pulled Derek’s shirt up and Derek looked at him in confusion when Stiles pulled away to take it off, but he complied.

“What are you doing?” Derek asked, his breathing a bit fast.

“I’m eighteen now. I’m unwrapping my birthday present.” Stiles smirked as he pushed Derek to the bed.

“Stiles.” Derek’s hands balled into fists, but Stiles ignored him as he started undoing the button on Derek’s jeans.

“I’m making you feel better.” Stiles assured him as he lowered the zipper and got on his knees.

“No.” Derek said, pushing Stiles away and zipping up his pants. “I don’t feel better, Stiles.”

“Isn’t this what you want?” Stiles asked, at a loss.

“I don’t want to be fuck buddies, Stiles!” Derek half-growled as he threw his shirt back on. “If you don’t want to be with me, then fine. I’ll accept that. I won’t be your toy, Stiles. I’ve been a boy-toy before, I’m done.”

Stiles fumbled back onto his feet. “That’s not what I was doing.”

“Yes it is.” Derek scoffed. “You tried the same thing last night and I’ve had enough.”

“Last night?” Stiles asked, utterly confused.

Derek grabbed his jacket and made his way to the door. “Be gone by the time I get back. I don’t want to see you again.”

“Derek, wait!” Stiles said, running to the door, but Derek was already down the stairs and in his car. Stiles could only listen as the engine revved to life and Derek drove away.

~

Derek couldn’t breathe. There was a heaviness in his chest as he threw his things into a duffle and ran down the stairs. He had to get out of Beacon Hills. He had to get away from Stiles.

“Scott.” Derek said as Scott picked up the phone on the other line. “I’m leaving town again.”

“What? But what about Stiles?” Scott asked.

“What about him?” Derek asked back, a bite in his words.

“Well… what about all the supernatural creatures? Who’s going to help me with them?” Scott asked.

“There are less of them now, you and the rest of the pack can handle it.” Derek sighed. “I’ve taught you all that I could, you’ll be fine without me.”

“Derek, you’re a part of this pack.” Scott told him gently. 

“No… No I’m not.” Derek shook his head. “I am what I’ve been for the past ten years. I’m an omega.”

“We need you, Derek.” Scott pleaded. “Especially Stiles, even if he doesn’t know it.”

Derek swallowed hard. “Goodbye, Scott.”

“Derek, wait.” Scott said, but Derek hung up.

His phone rang again with Scott calling him back, but Derek left the phone on the table before leaving the loft to go find Cora again.

Peter was already waiting in the car when Derek got there.

“How’d you know?” Derek asked.

“First of all, I’m hurt that you would leave without me.” Peter glared at him. “Secondly, I knew that you’d leave eventually anyways. I heard you talking to Scott just now, you okay?”

“No.” Derek said, throwing the duffle in the back. 

“You wanna say goodbye to Stiles?” Peter asked.

“No.” Derek said, driving off. “If you mention him again, I’ll throw you out of this car and strand you on the side of the road, doesn’t matter where we are.”

“Understood.” Peter nodded, settling himself in for a long drive. “To South America.”

~

Scott ran into Stiles’ room just as Stiles had finished changing into clean clothes after his shower.

“What the hell happened with Derek?” Scott asked. “Are you okay?”

“Hi, Scott.” Stiles smiled awkwardly at the intrusion. “I’m fine. What do you mean? What are we talking about?”

“Derek just called to tell me that he’s leaving town.” Scott said, raising his eyebrows in surprise. “I ran over to the loft and all his stuff is gone, he left his phone on the table.”

Scott pulled out Derek’s phone as evidence.

Stiles took it from him in confusion. “Derek leaves town all the time, he always comes back.”

“Not this time.” Scott shook his head. “It sounded like he’s left for good.”

“Doesn’t it always?” Stiles scoffed. “Besides, why do you care so much?”

“He left without you, Stiles.” Scott said, confused. “Don’t you… Doesn’t that bother you a little?”

Stiles shrugged. 

“You told him, didn’t you?” Scott sighed. “You told him that you don’t love him.”

“Actually I tried to seduce him and he accused me of using him as a boy-toy because I don’t love him. Guess you were right about him figuring it out.” Stiles explained, a nervous feeling creeping up on him.

“Stiles.” Scott sighed. “Was he wrong?”

“I don’t know.” Stiles replied honestly as his hands started to shake. “I didn’t- I didn’t think about it like that. I like him, but… I’m eighteen. How am I supposed to decide who I’m going to be with for the rest of my life?”

Scott furrowed his brow. “Stiles, are you okay?”

Stiles started panting as he found it harder to breathe. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” Scott said, looking worried. “How do you feel?”

“Um… I guess a bit- a bit like I don’t- I can’t explain.” Stiles struggled. “I can’t breathe, I feel nervous and guilty I guess. It’s like I got punched in the gut.”

“What else?” Scott asked.

“I’m scared.” Stiles chuckled nervously. “I’m terrified.”

“Of what?” Scott’s eyes widened and he looked ready to fuss over Stiles.

“Everything.” Stiles admitted. “Lately, I don’t know- It’s been the same. Since the Nogitsune I just feel…”

“Terrified.” Scott sighed. “Is that why you kept avoiding Derek?”

Stiles swallowed hard. “Everything in me wants him; do you know what that’s like? I have no control over it. I’m scared to see him, I’m scared when I do see him, because I know that I can’t be what he wants.”

“What does he want?” Scott asked.

“I don’t know, but I can’t be that for him.” Stiles shook his head. “Even if he just wants me to be myself I don’t know who that is right now, and I can’t be who I was before all of this happened. I’m supposed to be strong, someone that he can depend on, and I just feel like I’m falling apart.”

“What do you mean?” Scott asked, confused.

“The soul mark on his chest- the tree tattoo.” Stiles bit his lip. “It’s supposed to be me. The tree shows my growth- strength, or whatever and that’s what he needs me to be. But I can’t.”

“Maybe you need to tell him that.” Scott suggested. “You know… I’m not good at science and whatever, but basic understanding of how plants work is that they need to be nurtured. We’ve all been too busy with our own things to do that for you and you pushed away the only person that really tried. Maybe that’s why you feel guilty.”

“What makes you think that Derek tried?” Stiles asked, upset that his best friend seemed to be siding with Derek.

“Because he never really asked you for anything.” Scott told him carefully. “He didn’t ask you to love him. He stuck around to help us for months while you got over freaking out that he was your soul mate and he never pushed you for anything. Every time that you’ve been in trouble, he’s the first one there to help but he never expected anything from you. I think he really just hoped that you would come around eventually.”

“Then why did he leave as soon as I was ready to be with him?” Stiles scoffed. “He shoved me off of him.”

“Stiles… Kate used Derek to get to his family, you know that.” Scott bit his lip awkwardly. “She only ever cared about his body and what he could do for her.”

“Are you saying that I’m like Kate Argent?” Stiles recoiled as though he’d been slapped.

“No! No, not at all.” Scott rushed to answer. “But Derek has a bad track record with people that he’s either been intimate with or cared about. Imagine finding your soul mate and thinking that the only thing they want you for is your body, like everyone else before. You haven’t thrown him a bone to let him think you care, you just demanded sex from him as soon as you were of age.”

Stiles buried his head in his hands. “I didn’t mean it like that, I just figured it was a start.”

“I know.” Scott said gently. “You don’t feel ready to open up to anyone, so you thought you were giving Derek the next best thing.”

“Why can’t he understand that?” Stiles asked. “He’s my soul mate, my supposed perfect match, and we’re never on the same page.”

“You wouldn’t like it if it were easy.” Scott smiled. “I think that’s the point. You challenge each other. You need each other in a way.”

_I don’t trust you and you don’t trust me, but you need me to survive and that’s why you’re not letting go_

Stiles stumbled back as a memory flashed through his mind.

“Stiles, are you okay?” Scott asked, worried.

“I’m fine.” Stiles lied. 

“Okay.” Scott said, placing his hand of Stiles’ briefly.

Suddenly, Stiles looked down to see his hand joined with Derek’s, almost ten years ago back at the sheriff’s station. Derek started crying, openly letting himself grieve as he had just lost his family.

Stiles reached out to dry away a tear but Scott’s hand in the present stopped him. 

“What’s up, Stiles?” Scott asked awkwardly, holding Stiles’ hand an inch away from his face with wide eyes.

“I knew Derek before.” Stiles chuckled in surprise. “I didn’t remember- I mean, I did, but not really.”

“What’s going on?” Scott asked, but it sounded far away.

Stiles felt like he was being sucked back into his mind, memories of every touch, every feeling that he had ever felt around Derek swirled through him. The pure joy he felt whenever he made Derek smile and the fondness of Derek’s grumpy face at one of his bad jokes. Tentative touches that revealed a softer side to Derek, along with gentle eyes and the slightest quirk of his lips.

Every time that Stiles got mad at Derek, and every argument, the passion and secret admiration that Derek could lash out just as much as Stiles with less words and more physical expression. Not once did Derek try to harm Stiles though, instead protecting Stiles and backing him up when up against someone else. They were a force to be reckoned with, and they fit together like two pieces of a puzzle.

Despite the miscommunications and being on separate teams every now and then when Scott didn’t like what Derek was doing. Through mistrust and anger, arguments and glares, they were still at their bests together.

_Oh, I don’t know, Derek. I think you two make a pretty good pair._

Stiles realized that everyone they went up against tried to separate Stiles and Derek, and yet Stiles had been too dumb to see it. Peter had cut Derek off from Scott and Stiles despite the fact that if Scott trusted Derek, he might be more inclined to join Peter’s pack. When up against the Kanima, Derek and Stiles were on separate teams but they still worked together enough for Gerard to abduct Stiles along with the rest of Derek’s pack. The only reason that he had been let go was because of Scott.

Jennifer had even tried to make Derek choose between her and Stiles, and Stiles realized that Derek hadn’t hesitated to take Stiles’ side against his girlfriend. Stiles remembered the panic he felt when he thought that Jennifer had killed Derek; thinking that he might never get to say something to Derek that he had always wanted to but never had the right words or enough time.

The Nogitsune had been the only one to succeed in severing Stiles’ relationship with Derek. Constantly telling Stiles that Derek didn’t care about him, that he was probably only looking for Stiles because Scott wanted him to and Derek really only intended to kill instead of save Stiles now that he had the opportunity. Saying that Derek hated Stiles. 

Stiles let the Nogitsune instill a fear in him and doubt his own feelings for Derek. He shoved down their memories together to leave Stiles defenseless again him because he knew that Derek made Stiles stronger. But even though Stiles wanted to place all of the blame on the Nogitsune, he couldn’t. He left those memories and feelings buried even after the separation. Even after the Nogitsune was gone, Stiles refused to let himself feel that way again even though he wasn’t sure why.

He left himself numb and Derek was the one who suffered. Instead of being what Derek needed, Stiles had lost himself in his effort to forget. Derek hadn’t been the problem. Scott was right: Derek never asked Stiles for anything, instead supported Stiles in spite of getting nothing in return. 

Stiles opened his eyes, confused as to when he had closed them and why Scott was hovering over him with worry.

“Stiles, are you okay?” Scott asked, moving back to give Stiles some space. “I think you passed out for a second.”

“What?” Stiles scoffed. “No. It was longer than that.”

Scott stared at him with wide eyes.

“I feel like I was just trapped in my head for hours, dude.” Stiles chuckled. “How long was I out?”

“Like maybe thirty seconds?” Scott shrugged. “What happened?”

“I think I love Derek.” Stiles grimaced guiltily. “Oops.”

Scott shook his head in frustration. “Okay, what?”

“I think the Nogitsune did something when it was in my head, and I left it like that because it was easier than dealing with it.” Stiles explained. “I think I’ve been in love with Derek for a really long time and I just fucked up colossally.” 

Scott sighed.

“I have to go find him.” Stiles shrugged.

“Look, I don’t- I’m not even gonna pretend to understand what just happened, but you can’t just go chasing after Derek now.” Scott said. “We’re gonna go talk to Deaton, see what he knows, and then we can come up with some way for you to apologize to Derek. You need to really think about this, okay? I mean, imagine if you were Derek and were constantly being rejected up until you get fed up and leave town? Then all of a sudden it turns out that he’s been in love with you the whole time? It- he’s not gonna understand.”

“But he’ll try and we’ll work through it.” Stiles shrugged.

“You two are like fire and gasoline sometimes, it’s not gonna be pretty.” Scott told him. “First let’s figure out what just happened to you, and then we can start looking for Derek.”

“You’re probably right.” Stiles nodded. “Who knew that you’d end up trying to talk some sense into me someday?”

“Dude, the only reason I’m a werewolf is because you like to rush off into danger half-cocked.” Scott teased. “Come on.”

Stiles laughed but listened to Scott and they made their way to the animal clinic to see Deaton.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally an explanation for Stiles' behavior! Told you I would have one.
> 
> Anyways, I'm gonna post another chapter when I wake up just because I can. Alright, I know it's angsty for now but just the next chapter and that should be it I think.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm posting early because I sorta want to get the angst out of the way. Please enjoy :)

“I could drive for a bit if you’re in that much of a hurry.” Peter suggested as he snacked on some jerky from the last time they had to stop to get gas.

“I’m fine.” Derek grunted.

“I doubt that very much.” Peter lifted an eyebrow. “But- and you know how much I hate being a backseat driver here- but-”

“Since when?” Derek cut him off.

“Since our last little road trip together when you almost _literally_ bit my head off.” Peter replied defensively. “As I was saying: you’re driving recklessly, more so than usual. You can’t- or rather you shouldn’t- drive at eighty miles an hour on busy streets. You’re going to pop our tires off if you keep going a hundred and twenty on the freeway. We’d survive a crash but it would hurt like a bitch and we’d be left without a car.”

“Then we’ll run the rest of the way.” Derek growled.

“I’m sure you’re just eager to get to Cora and that this has absolutely nothing to do with Stiles, so I’m going to tell you something: Cora waited eleven years to see us again, I don’t think that she’s unwilling to wait a little bit longer especially now that we know where she is.” Peter countered.

“What did I say about mentioning-” Derek started, leaning over threateningly.

“Right, right.” Peter sighed. “Forget I said anything.”

Derek felt his control slipping as he shifted and growled low, staring blankly at the highway ahead of them.

“I feel safe.” Peter muttered under his breath sarcastically.

~

“Talia never mentioned any of her kids having soul marks.” Deaton replied after they finished telling him the whole story. “As far as I know, they aren’t even real. They’re just myths. Part of the myth however, is that only born wolves have them.”

“You think Derek lied to me?” Stiles asked.

“I’d need to see one for myself.” Deaton shrugged, at a loss.

Stiles took his shirt off, tracing the mark with his fingers.

“They look like paw prints.” Deaton said, looking them over with fascination. “It looks like a tattoo.”

“It’s not.” Scott said firmly. “Stiles wouldn’t get a tattoo, they make him squeamish. He passed out when I got mine.”

“Dude.” Stiles looked at him with betrayal.

“The point is: it’s real and it changes.” Scott finished.

“Yeah, when Derek’s around it’s just one paw print, usually marked with whatever tragedy he’s going through.” Stiles explained. “It turns into paw prints along my side when he’s running away.”

“That a little stalkerish.” Deaton raised an eyebrow. “If you guys are soul mates then it’ll be impossible for him to get cold feet and run out of town for a few days without you noticing if you ever decided to get married.”

“Wh- why would you say that?” Stiles asked, bewildered. “And who said anything about marriage?”

“Sorry.” Deaton apologized sympathetically. “But this means that…”

“What? What does it mean?” Scott asked.

“I’m going to have to do a bit of research.” Deaton sighed. “But part of what I remember from the myths is that soul mates are rare because they’re actually one soul separated, which is why soul mates rarely get along at first.”

“I can’t actually vouch for that.” Stiles cleared his throat. “Derek and I met when I was eight, but we weren’t fighting or anything back then.”

“Wait, what?” Scott asked in confusion. “Why don’t you tell me this stuff, dude?”

Stiles shrugged, turning back to Deaton.

“Stiles, I think your mark moves to show how far away he is.” Deaton said, staring at the paw prints on Stiles’ chest.

“No, definitely not.” Stiles shook his head. “When he was gone for the first six years, they moved around but not sporadically. After he came back, they just stayed in the same place.”

“Who’s to say that he doesn’t go to the same place now?” Deaton asked.

“When he went to South America they were in the same place, and he went to Mexico for a bit on his way back but they didn’t move.” Stiles explained. “Besides, before he came to Beacon Hills he spent most of his time in New York, long enough that it wouldn’t move the mark for a while but it constantly changed anyways.”

Deaton and Scott looked at him with confusion.

“My dad’s the sheriff, okay? I looked up his records.” Stiles shrugged.

“So then, what does it mean?” Scott asked. “If not to where he is, then why do they move?”

“Because when Derek’s nearby, the soul feels whole, but it can feel when his half leaves?” Deaton shrugged. “The best I can do now is guess. I’ll need time to do some research.”

“What do we do in the meantime?” Stiles asked. “I need to find him. Apparently I’m incomplete without him.”

“Stiles, come on.” Scott sighed. 

“Stiles might have a point.” Deaton said thoughtfully. “I’ve only ever heard rumors of what happens to a wolf that rejects its mate, but it doesn’t end well.”

“Why? What do you mean?” Stiles asked concerned.

“If it’s only half of a soul, then Stiles is right about it being incomplete.” Deaton told them. “There might be certain things that one half can’t do without the other. It could be a feeling or a function, but I can’t be sure.”

“But I don’t feel like half a person.” Stiles scoffed.

“Perhaps you aren’t.” Deaton sighed. “Maybe they’re not halves so much as two parts. You might have more traits than Derek, which would explain why he has so many complexes.”

“That’s probably why Derek felt more connected to you.” Scott said. “He needs you more than you need him.”

Stiles scoffed. “No, I don’t believe that. Derek’s… he’s not flawless or perfect but he is his own person.”

“What if we’re looking at this wrong?” Scott bit his lip. “What if our soul has nothing to do with our personality? What if it’s just why you feel so empty inside?”

“Doesn’t everyone?” Stiles gave him a look.

“No.” Scott shook his head. “I don’t feel the need to find my other half.”

Stiles sighed. 

“How did you feel when you realized that Derek had left you?” Deaton asked. “Better yet, how did you feel before you first found out he was gone?”

“Empty, I guess.” Stiles shook his head. “I sort of felt like I needed to make something right, but didn’t know what it was until Scott told me.”

“Did you feel desperate? Anxious? Afraid?” Deaton asked.

“Kinda, yeah.” Stiles shrugged.

Deaton sighed. “This is all speculation. I’m going to look into this, but you need to be careful, Stiles. I don’t know what will happen if Derek rejects you.”

“He said he couldn’t though.” Stiles told him. “Because we had already met.”

“That might be helpful.” Deaton nodded.

“He also said that it could change. Or he thought it could.” Stiles added.

Deaton’s expression clearing into terror.

“What? What is it?” Scott asked, noticing the look on his face.

Deaton swallowed hard. “If you really are two parts of one soul and it changes… let’s just say that I’ve seen what happens when a soul changes. It’s monstrous and not something you want.”

“But- wait, why?” Stiles asked. “How can two parts of a soul reject each other without complications but if you change it then it turns in a monster?”

“If soul mates reject each other then they remain the same, only they no longer join when together. They’ll always feel something missing, but they still have a potential in the afterlife.” Deaton explained. “If you change the nature of a soul, then the outcome can only be that one half turns into a demon, while the other either stays the same or… is eaten by the other half.”

“You’ve seen that before?” Stiles asked. 

“Only once and it was a choice made by an individual person without a shared soul so I can’t be sure that it will happen to soul mates.” Deaton nodded. “However, a soul demon would be worse than a Nogitsune, Stiles. It needs to feed on other souls.”

“We’re not gonna let that happen.” Scott promised, seeing the look of sheer panic on Stiles’ face. “We’ll figure out a way to get Derek back.”

~

“Whatever happened between you and… well, you’re probably overreacting.” Peter said, breaking the silence again.

Derek just huffed, wishing that he had left Peter on the side of the road the last time he brought something up.

“Just tell me what happened.” Peter rolled his eyes. “I’m sure that once you get it all out in the open, you’ll either realize that you’re making a big deal over nothing, or you’ll shut me up about the subject for good.”

Derek considered for a moment, not necessarily wanting to face that maybe he _had_ overreacted, but if that were true, then there was still time to turn around and face Stiles. The more tempting offer, however, was silencing Peter for the rest of the trip at least.

“He wanted to use me for sex.” Derek caved.

“And we live in a world where that’s a bad thing.” Peter said sarcastically.

“It’s not horrible for me to want more.” Derek glared at him.

“From an eighteen year old boy?” Peter laughed. “Derek, he’s been through a lot. Were you ready to fall in love and live happily ever after when _you_ were eighteen?”

“He’s… he’s supposed to be better than I am.” Derek replied.

“That’s your fault, not his.” Peter shook his head. “Just because he can deal with more at his age than you could, it doesn’t mean that you need to place that responsibility on him. He’s been possessed by a freaking Japanese demon and come out on top, been chased by supernatural creatures of all kinds, and had to think that he lives in his best friend’s shadow for the past few years. Don’t you think maybe his soul mate should give him a break?”

Derek sighed, not wanting to admit that Peter was right. “I’m not going to be his toy.”

“Then lay some ground rules.” Peter suggested. “Tell him where the line is so that he doesn’t cross it.”

“What do I say to him if I go back?” Derek asked, hating that he was asking for Peter’s advice.

“I’ve never had to talk out my mistakes with anyone.” Peter shrugged with a grin. “You’re asking the wrong guy. What I do know, is that you have to turn this car around right now and head to Beacon Hills.”

Derek was already slowing down and changing lanes so that he could take the next exit.

“Stiles is special, Derek.” Peter said, opening his water bottle. “Don’t fuck him up too badly.”

“Is that why you’re helping me?” Derek asked, raising an eyebrow. “Because Stiles is special?”

“No, I’m helping you because without a soul mate you’re probably insufferable and we’ll end up killing each other. I can’t deal with your grumpiness and emotions.” Peter chuckled. “At least if you end up with your soul mate, you might actually be happy for once and less on my ass about everything.”

“I should’ve known your motives were self-involved.” Derek sighed, slightly disappointed.

Peter just smirked. “I’m also looking out for your happiness, little nephew.”

Derek held back a growl and kept driving, now heading toward Beacon Hills.

~

“You said you found something?” Scott asked, walking into the animal clinic with Stiles.

“Yes, I think I have. I could only find one solid thing about soul mates. Everything else just seems like myths and lies.” Deaton nodded. “Stiles, you’re going to have to take off your shirt.”

“Hello to you too.” Stiles raised his eyebrows briefly but did as told. “What are we doing?”

“ _We’re_ not doing anything.” Deaton smiled. “It’s all you. According to this book I found, there may be a way for you to contact Derek through your mark.”

“Okay, what do I do?” Stiles asked.

“Place your hand on it and focus on him.” Deaton explained.

“That’s it?” Stiles asked, touching over the mark. “I mean, I’ve done that before.”

“I don’t mean think about him, I mean focus on him.” Deaton said. “Place your hand flat on the mark and focus, Stiles.”

“Okay.” Stiles said, closing his eyes and trying to focus. “Focusing on Derek.”

“Maybe, focus on your bond, your connection?” Scott added, not sounding too sure.

Stiles did his best to focus on Derek. Thinking about how they were actually magically bonded by crazy tattoos. Of course Derek would be represented by a paw; he was always running from something, and there was the obvious reason that he was a werewolf, but Derek was loyal and even needy when he allowed himself to be.

Suddenly, he felt an arm smacking his arm and a wave of anger taking over him. He held onto his mark but looked up at Deaton. “Something smacked by arm.”

“No, something smacked _his_ arm.” Deaton replied. “You can feel what he feels.”

“He’s angry.” Stiles breathed, trying to remember that he wasn’t the one upset. “But he’s scared too. Why can I feel what he’s feeling?”

“Let’s just say I haven’t read that far ahead.” Deaton replied awkwardly. “I think you can calm him down though, you just need to calm yourself down.”

Stiles did his best to get himself relaxed while still feeling Derek’s emotions. He evened out his breathing and thought about something pleasant.

~

Derek was driving thoughtfully (anxiously) when Peter smacked his arm and told him to keep an eye on the road. Apparently, Derek had moved the car too far right and the car behind them had almost hit them.

“I’m paying attention.” Derek growled.

“I don’t even care if we get hurt; we’ll heal.” Peter glared at him. “But then we’ll also be stranded god-knows-where with police looking for bodies and especially looking for the dumbass driver that killed the people in the other car.”

“Shut up.” Derek growled low, letting his new anger at Peter take over his fear of confronting Stiles.

“Fine.” Peter said, crossing his arms.

Derek was going to stay mad, but a feeling of calm washed over him and his hands relaxed on the steering wheel. He sighed and let it go thinking that he was probably just tired from driving for the past few hours.

~

“Do you think it worked?” Scott asked, watching Stiles closely.

“Yeah.” Stiles smiled. “I think I helped him.”

Scott grinned widely at him.

“How do I send him a message to come back?” Stiles asked.

“That was it.” Deaton told him.

“What? What do you mean that was it?” Stiles asked, throwing his shirt back on. “I didn’t do anything!”

“You shared emotions, Stiles.” Deaton told him. “That’s only something that soul mates that have accepted each other can do.”

“Does he know that?” Stiles asked.

Deaton shrugged. “I hope so. It’s the only thing we can really do short of hunting him down.”

“Then let’s hunt him down!” Stiles said, getting frustrated.

“Stiles, I don’t think you can force him to take you back.” Scott said, placing a calm hand on Stiles’ shoulder. “Just like he couldn’t force you to love him.”

~

Derek arrived with Peter to his loft.

“He’s going to be confused.” Peter warned him. “He thinks that you’re gone forever and you’re back a few hours later? It probably seems like you just wanted to scare him.”

“I know. I’ll talk to him about it.” Derek sighed. 

“You? Talk? To Stiles?… right.” Peter scoffed. “You aren’t going to talk to Stiles. It’s too easy. It’s actual communication.”

Derek glared at his uncle.

“Alright.” Peter smirked. “What are you going to say to him?”

“I’ll think about it when I talk to him.” Derek huffed.

“That’s foolproof.” Peter laughed aloud. “There’s no way that you’ll fuck that up.”

“Peter.” Derek growled. “Get out.”

Peter just laughed on his way out, leaving Derek to consider just what exactly he was going to say to Stiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would really like to point out that Stiles wasn't the only one being dumb. Derek was too. Anyways, everything will be resolved between them in the next chapter. 
> 
> I probably won't be able to post until Monday, but I'll see what happens. This chapter wasn't supposed to be posted until tomorrow, but I posted early and my next chapter is still a baby. I'll work on it as much as I can today. Still, New Years is the next thing we're getting prepped for. Another long weekend.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a baby chapter. It's not much but I hope you guys like it anyways. HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Stiles was feeling bummed after Deaton told him that there was nothing to do, so he went for a drive instead of going home. He found himself driving up to Derek’s loft and switched the engine off.

“What am I doing?” He asked himself.

He felt for the magic of his tattoo, finding that it had settled over his heart again and he looked around anxiously. Derek’s car was parked a few meters away, which meant that Derek was back.

“It worked?” Stiles laughed aloud, suddenly excited and scared.

He focused as he pressed his hand against his mark and was overcome by a rush of fear and anxiety. His arms started to feel sore and flexed, which informed him that Derek was working out.

“Freaky.” Stiles smiled as he calmed himself down, trying to send a message of happiness and excitement to Derek.

Stiles tried his best to keep quiet as he parked in a hidden area and made his way up the stairs as quietly as possible. If Derek were training his hearing then he’d be found out, but he was pretty sure that Derek wasn’t listening.

Stiles opened the door to the loft and Derek turned around in surprise.

“Hey.” Stiles smiled awkwardly. “You’re back.”

“Stiles.” Derek just stared at him for a moment, looking him over in confusion.

“I was a jerk.” Stiles finally said after a few moments stretched out. “I’m sorry.”

“Stiles.” Derek shook his head. “You don’t-”

“Look, let me just say this, okay?” Stiles interrupted. “I was an asshole but I didn’t- I didn’t want to make you feel like I was just using you for your body, okay? I mean, you’re hot so- I just- you’re more than that and I know that, I just wasn’t ready.”

“I know.” Derek nodded. “I should have understood or just asked you instead of running away. You don’t need to apologize for anything. I can’t expect you to handle things better than I would have at your age just because you’re- because you’re you. I know that you don’t want to use me and you really were trying to make the best of a weird situation, but I want you to know that I’ll wait until you’re ready. No more games. Don’t tell me that you are until you mean it, okay? That’s all I want.”

Stiles stepped forward until he was only a few feet away from Derek. “I’m ready now.”

Derek sighed, obviously not believing him.

“I know. Trust me, I know.” Stiles laughed. “I’ve been an idiot for a while now, even before the Nogitsune, but the Nogitsune did something to me. It- I think it found a way to separate my feelings for you from the memories. It wouldn’t be hard to do since he was in my head and the feelings that accompany memories are harder to remember and easier to change.”

Stiles could tell that Derek didn’t really believe him, but there was a hopeful look in his eyes.

“After you left, I remembered everything.” Stiles smiled, stepping closer. “Like, the thought of losing you for good broke the dam keeping my memories from me. The fear overwhelmed me and I almost had a panic attack, but then… I don’t know, I remembered _everything_. I remember how we met- how we really met when you were in high school the year that my mom died, after Paige died. The Reese’s and then seeing you again when I was eleven and you were seventeen before your family was burned. Holding your hand in the sheriff’s station…”

Derek’s hands clenched into fists, keeping himself from reaching out as Stiles’ voice got softer.

“My mark changed into paw prints when you left.” Stiles told him gently. “They stayed like that for years, up until you came back and I saw you again, when I was with Scott in the woods. You looked… different. Angrier. Mostly I was surprised because when people leave this town, they tend to never come back.”

“I never meant to.” Derek admitted.

“But you always do.” Stiles smiled at him teasingly. 

Derek just looked down.

“When I say that I remember everything, I mean it.” Stiles continued. “I remember every time that I thought that I lost you and damn if that doesn’t scare me more than anything the Nogitsune ever did to me. I held you up in a pool for three hours just because I can’t bear to lose you. You probably don’t know this but I did that instead of comforting a crying Lydia. I should’ve known then how much you mean to me, but I’m pretty stupid when it comes to feelings.”

The edges of Derek’s mouth moved up slightly at that, but he didn’t look up.

“I should have fought for you more than fought against you.” Stiles said sadly. “I was upset that you didn’t want me in your pack but I didn’t let myself wonder why. Scott didn’t like you turning people but… you gave them the choice. You informed them of the dangers but they said yes anyways. So no, Derek. Erica and Boyd dying? That’s not your fault and you can’t keep blaming yourself for it.”

Derek took a deep breath and Stiles pulled him forward into a comforting hug. Derek wrapped his arms around Stiles and squeezed him closer.

“Thank you.” Stiles mumbled against Derek. “Thanks for saving my dad, putting yourself in danger when you’d just lost your Alpha status. You’re always putting yourself in danger to protect others. Do you have any idea how frustrating that is for someone who cares about your safety though?”

Derek chuckled and pulled back, just enough to face Stiles but leaving his hands on Stiles’ hips.

“What?” Stiles asked, confused.

“That’s exactly how I feel about you.” Derek smiled. “You’re human but you’re always so ready to get yourself killed if it means helping someone.”

“Guess we have that in common then.” Stiles smiled back at him.

Derek shook his head and looked down.

“You’re beautiful, you know that?” Stiles asked. “I don’t just mean physically- which, I mean, you are- but you’re loyal and brave and selfless. That’s what my mark means. But yeah, you’re definitely a runner.”

Derek smiled and looked at Stiles for a long time, really looking him over. 

“You’re a huge dork but I don’t know what mark could possibly be on my skin to demonstrate that.” Stiles smiled.

“You love me.” Derek laughed, shaking his head as if it was ridiculous.

“Yeah.” Stiles scoffed. “My whole spiel didn’t cover that?”

Derek shook his head and leaned forward slightly, his lips hovering over Stiles’ as Derek asked permission silently through his eyes.

Stiles smiled and closed the distance between them, laughing against Derek’s lips. Derek started to smile too, making it difficult to keep kissing for very long.

“This is ridiculous.” Stiles laughed. “We’re too happy to make out.”

Derek just laughed, pressing his face into the crook of Stiles’ neck nuzzling him softly. “We’ll get there.”

“I know.” Stiles grinned, enjoying the rub of stubble and soft breathes of laughter against his skin. “We’ve got all the time in the world to get there.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There. Now they're happy. 
> 
> This year already hates me and I'm super sick, so I might not be able to write until I'm better. I've been really weak and I'm hopped up on drugs right now which is why I'm able to post at the moment. At least it's not a cliff-hanger, eh? I'll just have one more chapter since I've been told to make it an even 10 chapters. Hopefully, I can put all you guys want into it, but if not, then I'm considering a sequel. Thank you guys for reading! I love writing Sterek.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty, here it is. The last chapter. ENJOY!

Stiles and Derek fell into an easy relationship. Eventually, Stiles started spending more time at the loft when his dad worked nights and Derek visited the Stilinski house for dinners more often than not. Somehow, though, they had forgotten to mention something… pretty important.

Derek was cooking dinner for Stiles as he finished his homework and waited for his dad to come home. He was sitting on the couch with his legs crossed and his shirt thrown haphazardly over the side from a heated session with Derek earlier.

The sheriff’s car pulled up, but Stiles and Derek didn’t move, now that Sheriff Stilinski was used to Derek being over so often.

“Hey, boys.” The sheriff greeted tiredly. “Something smells good, Derek. What are you making?”

“A simple chicken.” Derek smiled, poking at the pan with a spatula. “The salad’s already been tossed.”

“Chicken, huh?” The sheriff leaned over the stove. 

“Just the breast.” Derek nodded. “You’re only supposed to eat white meat.”

The sheriff sighed and moved to the living room.

“Hey, son.” He smiled. “Doing homework are y- what’s that?”

Stiles looked up to see what his dad was pointing at, but his dad was pointing at his chest.

“When did you get a tattoo?” He asked, giving Stiles a stern look.

“What?” Stiles scoffed. “A tattoo? Wait- you seriously? I’d never- I hate needles.”

“Well it didn’t just magically appear!” The sheriff replied, but after a moment of consideration, he started to doubt himself. “Did it?”

“Kinda?” Stiles laughed. “It’s my birthmark. Remember?”

“No.” His dad shook his head. “You’re birthmark was just a tiny little paw, barely bigger than my thumb, and it was on your back, behind your right shoulder.”

“Well, it moved.” Stiles shrugged. 

“It moved…” His dad gave him a look that told Stiles to explain.

“Umm… yeah.” Stiles cleared his throat awkwardly. “It’s a soul mark? It means that I have a soul mate who just so happens to be cooking in our kitchen right now?”

“But Derek’s cooking in the- wait.” His dad paused to collect his thoughts. “You have a soul mate, and it’s Derek Hale? You found this out because you have a birthmark- sorry- soul mark, that told you this?”

“I mean, it was a little more complicated than that, but yeah?” Stiles smiled awkwardly. 

“Stiles, I’m gonna need more of an explanation.” His dad ran a tired hand over his face

“Okay, well the short version is that Derek and I have soul marks that demonstrate what the other person is like which is why mine is a paw and his is a tree- but the point is that we know because they moved when we touched them.” Stiles tried to explain. “Like, Derek touched mine and it went through all kinds of phases and I touched his and it grew and stuff?”

“Derek touched your… soul mark.” The sheriff nodded.

“Yeah.” Stiles bit his lip.

“And you touched his.” His dad added.

“Yep.” Stiles nodded.

“So, he’s your boyfriend now.” He said, waiting for an answer even though it wasn’t a question.

“We’re- we’re trying that out first…” Stiles replied.

“Oh, thank God.” His dad sighed in relief. “I thought you were- well, I didn’t know. I’m glad though.”

“What?” Stiles asked, confused.

“You aren’t going to break up any time soon, are you?” His dad asked, genuinely concerned.

“Maybe not ever.” Derek smiled, setting up places. “We’re soul mates. We’re bonded for life, but we’re taking it one step at a time. I’ll stay with Stiles for as long as he’ll have me.”

“You better not break his heart, son.” His dad said firmly.

“I won’t, sir.” Derek nodded.

“Actually, I was talking to Stiles.” The sheriff turned to Stiles.

“Oh, yeah- no.” Stiles smiled. “I mean- wait. Are you serious?”

“He’s been through enough.” His dad nodded.

“So have I!” Stiles gaped.

“Stiles.” His dad gave him a look.

“What? No. Dad, I have no intention of hurting him. Ever, okay? Trust me.” Stiles shook his head.

His dad gave him a look.

“Alright, so maybe I lie sometimes, but I’m not lying about this.” Stiles said, standing up. “I love him, okay? The last thing I want to do is hurt him or ruin what we have together.”

“Don’t worry, sheriff.” Derek smiled, placing the salad in the middle of the table. “I’ll still come over and cook for you even if it doesn’t work out.”

“You’re a good man, Derek.” The sheriff smiled thankfully.

“Hey, I cook!” Stiles threw his arms up even as he made his way to the table.

“Microwaving Lean Cuisine isn’t cooking, Stiles.” Derek shook his head. “Now, put on your shirt.”

“This is fucking ridiculous.” Stiles grumbled, going back to the living room to get his shirt.

“Tell me more about these soul marks.” His dad inquired, taking a seat at the table.

“Well, usually only born werewolves get them, so naturally I was confused that Stiles has one.” Derek answered, also taking a seat after he had placed the chicken breasts on a plate in the center. “Even on born werewolves, they’re extremely rare, but there’s always been something special about Stiles.”

“What’s it like, having a soul mate?” The sheriff asked.

“Well, it depends.” Derek explained. “At first, the marks move a lot to help you locate your soul mate, but they don’t so much once you’ve accepted each other. See, once you’ve met your soul mate, you can check on them to see what they’re feeling physically, but after you’ve accepted each other, you can feel what they are feeling emotionally.”

“What?” Stilinski shook his head in confusion.

“Well, dad, at first it’s like their emotions are your own.” Stiles explained. “But after a while, it’s more of a second nature kind of thing. You start to know how they’re feeling without even trying and it’s easier to separate what they’re feeling from what you are. Still, you can offer them support and send them happy feelings without being there with them.”

 

“And how exactly did you two end up together?” His dad asked, motioning between them. “How did this happen.”

“Gradually, over time.” Derek replied with a soft smile. “For me, I think it started when I first saw Stiles as a teenager. He was still just a kid, but he’s always been more. He understands my world so easily, he’s always been incredibly smart and helped out in ways that no one else can. I know that I’m older than him, which gave me some hesitation at first, but when I saw his mark, I knew that there was no point in denying what was in front of me.”

“You fucking ran!” Stiles accused.

“I found out that my soul mate was a seventeen year old kid, of course I ran.” Derek glared at him. “I’m almost seven years older than you, Stiles. I’m surprised that you aren’t bothered by that.”

“Why should I be?” Stiles smirked. “I mean, I freaked out too, but it wasn’t our age difference. You know that.”

“Wait- Derek, when did you find out?” Sheriff Stilinski asked.

“I found out after we took on the Alphas and the Durach.” Derek replied honestly. “I was leaving town to take Cora back to South America, but I needed to say goodbye to Stiles. I came over and he was changing shirts- that’s when I saw his mark. Like you, I thought it was a tattoo, but it isn’t. I spent months agonizing over what it meant, but the Nogitsune possessed Stiles, and we almost lost him. I had to tell him.”

“Suffice it to say, I didn’t take it well.” Stiles admitted guiltily. “In my defense, the Nogitsune had messed with my head and I didn’t remember things properly, but I almost ruined everything. It all worked out though.”

“But you still don’t know why Stiles has a soul mark?” His dad asked.

“Actually, I was wondering if you might be able to clear that up for us.” Derek sighed, folding his hands together. “While I was away, taking Cora back to South America, on the way back I managed to find a way to speak with my mother. She told me that there was something in Stiles’ lineage and past that could explain why we had our connection. Said that it had something to do with his mother, Claudia.”

Stiles turned to Derek in shock. “You never told me that.”

“Hang on, you had a conversation with your dead mother?” The sheriff asked, completely thrown. “And she told you that you and Stiles were connected through Claudia.”

“Yes.” Derek nodded.

“But- how?” Stilinski asked.

“Talking to my mother took a complex ritual involving her claws.” Derek replied. “As for anything having to do with Stiles’ mother, you might be better to answer that question.”

“Maybe we should finish dinner first.” Stiles suggested, seeing the look on his dad’s face.

“That- that’s a good idea, son.” His dad nodded, serving himself salad and chicken breast.

They ate in silence, but it wasn’t as awkward as Stiles had expected. Derek was a decent cook despite not living in a respectable housing environment for the past few years. Derek had even prepared gluten and sugar-free cookies for desert.

They moved to the living room to get more comfortable and Stiles shared the loveseat with Derek while his dad sat on the recliner with some photo albums.

“I can go take out her old diaries if you want.” Stiles suggested, seeing his dad’s torn expression at opening the album.

“That’s a good idea.” His dad nodded.

When Stiles came back, Derek was flipping through an album while his dad went through their wedding photos.

“Here they are.” Stiles said quietly as he sat next to Derek.

They went through the photo albums and diaries silently for a few minutes until Derek looked up alarmed.

“Sheriff, do you remember him?” Derek asked, holding the photo album to the sheriff.

“Yes, he was a big guy.” The sheriff nodded. “A few years ago, one of his friend’s bodies got cut in half.”

“That’s Ennis.” Derek said, showing the picture to Stiles. “And that’s your mom.”

“Wait, mom knew Ennis?” Stiles asked, sitting up to show the picture to his dad. “Who are the other people in the photo?”

His dad looked closer at it. “Well, the guy in that corner was the one who got cut in half. The girl next to your mom was one of her friends from work, Marin, and Deaton, of course, next to her since she’s his sister. Some of these others look familiar, but I think that’s because they either worked with your mother or were clients.”

“Those aren’t co-workers, sheriff.” Derek shook his head. “That’s Ennis’ pack. And Marin was Deucalion’s emissary, which means she was there on pack business.”

“Deaton was Talia’s.” Stiles reminded him. “Which means that so was he. When was this picture taken?”

“A little while before I met your mother. Why?” His dad asked.

“Because I think this might explain our soul marks.” Stiles said.

“What do you mean?” Derek asked. 

“I think… I think my mom was the emissary to Ennis’ pack.” Stiles explained. “I mean, she wouldn’t have been murdered by him because she was already dead by the time that Deucalion convinced Ennis and Kali to massacre their packs. Maybe that’s why it was so easy for Ennis to turn on his pack. He didn’t have an emissary to guide him. Emissaries were vital to the packs, they helped maintain balance and order, like Marin. Without an emissary, Ennis would be easy to persuade especially at a time when he was so emotional and unable to think clearly. Kali only followed Deucalion to be with Ennis, which means that Ennis was really the only one that Deucalion _needed_ to convince. The twins didn’t come into the equation until later.”

“What does this have to do with the soul marks?” Derek asked.

“What if my mom and Deaton set something up for there to be peace between the packs?” Stiles asked. “You said so yourself that soul mates were usually used to help packs remain at peace, right? What if it’s all magic? Whatever a soul mate is, it has to have a cause, right? What if that cause, was my mom along with Deaton and Marin to solidify the joining of three packs?”

“But wouldn’t you have to be a werewolf?” His dad asked. “Wouldn’t Claudia- your mother- have made one of Ennis’ werewolves Derek’s soul mate?”

“No.” Derek shook his head. “Ennis’ whole pack was bitten wolves. Maybe Stiles was supposed to be turned once he reached a certain age, but everything had been ruined by then.”

“You mean Claudia offered up our own child before he was even born?” The sheriff asked, enraged.

“It’s possible that Derek was already conceived and on the way, and I wasn’t even a twinkle in your eye yet, dad.” Stiles told him. “Emissaries were part of the packs. She was offering up a kid that was totally hers for the better of the pack. You said it yourself that she hadn’t even met you yet.”

“But that still doesn’t explain why you and Derek are soul mates, Stiles.” His dad shook his head, probably to forget about what he had heard. 

“Maybe it does.” Derek replied. “I think that Deaton and Marin performed some kind of magic that linked me to Stiles.”

“If Derek was already a child in Talia’s womb, then the only left to do would be for me to be conceived.” Stiles nodded. “But I don’t think Deaton helped in the process. I went to him to ask about soul marks and he didn’t know anything, which means that this was something that Marin and mom did on their own.”

“How are you okay with this?” His dad asked.

“Because it worked out okay in the end.” Stiles shrugged. “I mean, I wish mom could be around to tell us what really happened, but… she’s not. Still, I mean, thanks to her, I’m with the person I was destined to be with.”

“Would it make a difference if two women conjured the magic?” Derek asked, his brow scrunched in thought. “And even if it didn’t, why did Marin choose to link Ennis’ pack to mine instead of Deucalion’s?”

“It probably has something to do with balance.” Stiles shrugged. “And maybe they needed something to unite the packs as soon as possible and Talia was already pregnant. I’m guessing that Ennis was the problem since he seemed like a hothead.”

Derek nodded.

“Deaton said that I had a Spark.” Stiles bit his lip, remembering the time that Deaton had assigned him to place mountain ash.

“Spark?” His dad asked.

“I thought that- I mean I figured that I had to place the mountain ash because I was human and could touch it, but what if he meant something else?” Stiles asked. “What if I have magic?”

“What are you thinking, Stiles?” Derek asked.

“I’m… designed, shall we say, to withstand the bite of a werewolf.” Stiles replied. “But if I can do magic, then what happens if I get bitten?”

“You’re the perfect emissary.” Derek’s eyebrows raised. “You were made to be the perfect emissary. That’s why you bring so many different creatures together in Scott’s pack. It makes sense.”

“I think this is the part where I excuse myself from the conversation.” Sheriff Stilinski shook his head.

“No, it’s fine.” Derek assured him. “Stiles has the best instincts when it comes to who the person we’re up against at the time is. He’s always the one to figure it out. Peter’s been- oh, he’s such an asshole. He’s been taunting me. He knows about you, I think. Stiles, you were supposed to unite the packs.”

Stiles shook his head. “No, see, Scott’s the one that does all of that.”

“And you’re his emissary, Stiles.” Derek smiled. “We all help him a little bit, but you’re the one he listens to the most.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s Deaton.” Stiles shrugged.

“Stiles!” Derek told him fiercely. 

Stiles sighed.

“Do you think that Scott would have made it this far as a werewolf without your guidance?” Derek asked. “You were the one helping him from day one and it’s because of your support that he’s a True Alpha. You brought all of us together, even Malia and Peter! Lydia wouldn’t be in the pack without you either. Scott might be the one taking the credit, but it’s your pack too, Stiles.”

Stiles just stared at Derek, unsure of what to say.

“You’re special, Stiles.” Derek grinned. “And now I know that it’s not just because I love you, but because it’s who you were born to be. Someone incredibly special and full of incredible talents.”

“Alright, I’m gonna leave you two kids alone now.” The sheriff said, standing up awkwardly. “Don’t make too much noise and take care of the photo albums and diaries. Put them away if you can. Goodnight.”

“Night, dad!” Stiles said, pouncing on Derek.

“Mmph.” Derek mumbled his goodnight against Stiles’ lips.

The sheriff half-jogged up the stairs to get away.

“What do you think happens if I get bitten by a werewolf?” Stiles asked as Derek sucked on his neck.

“Technically, you already have.” Derek emphasized his point by nipping Stiles’ collarbone.

“Dork.” Stiles smiled fondly.

“Perfection.” Derek whispered against his skin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, hopefully that ties things up. I don't think I'll write a sequel after all. So, lemme know your opinions in the comments, I'll be happy to read through them and reply :) It's been super fun writing this with your guys' feedback. I appreciate it, honestly. 
> 
> I might not write another Sterek fanfic anytime soon since I'm gonna be working on a ColdFlash one and then school is starting again, but I'm not abandoning the fandom. Not at all. I've still got loads of ideas for Sterek. I love writing Stiles and Derek and PETER OF COURSE he is fucking great. 
> 
> Thanks to everyone who read this. You're the best!

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think?


End file.
